The word "fruitless" means without any result, unsuccessful or ineffective. It can be used to describe a situation where efforts were made but no progress was achieved, or an action that did not produce the desired outcome.
Usage examples
Our attempts to find a compromise with the opposing party proved fruitless as they refused to make any concessions.
The detective's investigation came to a fruitless end, as there was no substantial evidence to solve the case.
Mary's attempt to teach her cat tricks was fruitless, as it showed no interest and refused to cooperate.
John's efforts to repair the old car were fruitless, as it kept breaking down despite all his attempts to fix it.
The company's marketing campaign turned out to be fruitless, with no significant increase in sales or brand awareness.
His mathematical reasoning was so strong that most physicists today have little doubt of monopoles» existence, despite decades of fruitless searches for them at CERN and other leading institutions. (sciencenews.org)
The few astronomers who even attempted to look for them languished in obscurity, spending years in fruitless searching. (discovermagazine.com)
Arsenal always seem to start well and show great form but their inconsistency lets down them and their last ditch bid for fourth place proves fruitless as once in the competition, they're sent packing in the last - 16, usually by Bayern and are essentially a waste of a place. (arsenalfcblog.com)