futility
/fjuˈtɪləti/noun
futility is spelled F-U-T-I-L-I-T-Y: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,418th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, futility means “The quality of being futile or useless” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of futility is futilities.
How many letters and syllables are in futility?
| Letters | 8: F-U-T-I-L-I-T-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,418th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is futility?
Futility appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,418th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce futility?
- UK /fjuːˈtɪlɪti/
- US /fjuˈtɪləti/
Futility has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-futility.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with futility?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as futility from its last stressed vowel (/ɪləti/):
- responsibility
- possibility
- capability
- probability
- accountability
- fertility
- sustainability
- eligibility
- instability
- vulnerability
- compatibility
- accessibility
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of futility
- futilities plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does futility mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The quality of being futile or useless.
an exercise of futility
- 2
Something, especially an act, that is futile.
- 3
Unimportance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Futility in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense quality of being futile:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | futilité |
| German | Sinnlosigkeit, Vergeblichkeit, Zwecklosigkeit |
| Portuguese | futilidade |
| Spanish | futilidad |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does futility come from?
From Latin fūtilitās (“worthlessness, futility”). By surface analysis, futile + -ity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).