Futile [adjective]

First, they must be trained, and training large numbers of animals that don’t live very long is expensive, time-consuming, and somewhat futile.

The Washington Post and 17 other newspapers obtained their own set of the papers from Ellsberg and continued to publish as federal prosecutors dashed from city to city in a futile effort to obtain injunctions that would stop the presses.

Local leaders protest, but those protests are futile, and rigid new security protocols are enforced.

Even after Wednesday’s riots, more than 100 lawmakers supported a futile attempt to overturn the election.

“We’ve been trying to get ahead of it, and plan and plan and get the details out, and we’ve figured out that that’s a pretty futile effort,” he said.

Social media fatigue and community loss on apps like Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat have made the possibility of connection appear even more futile.

Major college football programs supply dozens of tests each day, an attempt — futile as it has been — to maintain health and prevent schedule interruptions.

They are potent caregivers one minute and futile witnesses the next, scrubbing their hands until their knuckles crack and ooze.

Her directness had made all possible 'buts' seem ridiculous and futile, and had made the expression of curiosity seem offensive.

I kept a stiff backbone for a while, but presently a futile rage against circumstances bubbled up and boiled over.