unfruitful

[ uhn-froot-fuhl ]

adjective

1. not providing satisfaction; unprofitable:

   unfruitful efforts.

   Synonyms: unrewarding, unproductive, vain, fruitless

2. not producing offspring; sterile:

   an unfruitful marriage.

3. not yielding good crops; infertile:

   unfruitful acres.

4. not bearing fruit; fruitless; barren:

   an unfruitful tree.

unfruitful

/ ʌnˈfruːtfʊl /

adjective

1. barren, unproductive, or unprofitable
2. failing to produce or develop into fruit

Derived Forms

• unˈfruitfully, adverb
• unˈfruitfulness, noun

Other Words From

• un·fruitful·ly adverb
• un·fruitful·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unfruitful¹

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; un- ¹, fruitful

Example Sentences

But the meeting proved unfruitful, with the Syrians not providing any proof-of-life information and making demands that U.S. officials deemed unreasonable.

From Seattle Times

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

From Salon

A long and unfruitful detour into basketry unfolds.

From Los Angeles Times

Peace talks in Saudi Arabia have been unfruitful as efforts to secure a ceasefire have failed, according to Reuters.

From BBC

However the settlement came together, the fact that it did so at all came as a real shock to the many reporters who, after Monday’s unfruitful postponement, had resigned themselves to covering this sure-to-be-revealing, probably comical, and most importantly long defamation trial.

From Slate