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Showing results for to no avail. Search instead for no+avail.
Synonyms

to no avail

Idioms  

  1. Also, of little or no avail. Of no use or advantage, ineffective, as in All his shouting was to no avail; no one could hear him, or The life jacket was of little or no avail. This idiom uses avail in the sense of “advantage” or “assistance,” a usage dating from the mid-1400s. Also see to little purpose.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She followed her pediatrician’s advice, adding tube after tube of rash cream to no avail.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Stars like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and teenage wonder Macklin Celebrini repeatedly barraged the zone, to no avail.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Consolidating second spot in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics led by as much as 34 points in the third quarter, before the Warriors reduced the deficit but to no avail.

From Barron's • Feb. 20, 2026

With their mother gone, the teenager tried to feed the baby, who was exclusively breastfed, formula to no avail.

From Salon • Feb. 4, 2026

Svetlana tried to console him by making grim faces, but to no avail.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.