Fruitless

Fruitless is an adjective describing something that yields no fruit or has no productive result. In ordinary use, it can refer to plants that do not bear fruit as well as to efforts, plans, or endeavors that fail to achieve their intended outcome. The term often carries a negative connotation, emphasizing lack of success rather than mere chance.

Etymology and usage notes suggest that fruitless is formed from fruit plus the suffix -less, indicating absence. The word has been part of English since the Middle Ages, reflecting the sense of bearing no fruit or producing no results. Its adverbial form is fruitlessly.

In botany and horticulture, fruitless describes flowers, branches, or varieties that do not develop edible fruit. Causes can include genetic sterility, incompatibility between pollinators, environmental stress, improper pruning or fertilization, and adverse conditions during fruit set. Some plants are naturally non-fruiting in certain climates or life stages.

In figurative language, fruitless describes actions or investigations that fail to yield an outcome or solution. A fruitless search, negotiation, or effort implies futility or lack of progress, and the term is commonly paired with synonyms such as futile, unproductive, barren, or vain.

See also: fruitlessness, barren, infertile, unproductive, futile.