2 uses
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Definition
effort that is pointless because it is unproductive or unsuccessful
- It was a futile search; but it was then and there that I started to remember.p. 242.6
- In order to bring this forced intercourse about, it had been necessary for Noah and Simon to prevent Hester from locking herself in her bathroom—which she attempted— and then it was necessary for them to tie her to her bed, which they managed to do after a violent struggle that included the decapitation of one of Hester's more fragile stuffed animals, which she had futilely ruined by beating her brothers with it.p. 61.3
There are no more uses of "futile" in A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Typical Usage
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