All 4 Uses

futile
in
The Horse Whisperer
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She realized how futile, how stupid this was even before she said it.†
Chpt 11
He didn't speak, for he knew the futility of words to change such things and that even the passing of years might leave her certainty undimmed.†
Chpt 20 *

futility = pointlessness (uselessness)
Away in the far corner, as usual too, Pilgrim started snorting and trotting to and fro as if marking out some futile last resort.†
Chpt 26
Robert leaned forward to squint through the futile arc made by the wipers.†
Chpt 29

Definitions:

(1) (futile)
effort that is pointless because it is unproductive or unsuccessful
(2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)