inutile
See also: innutile
English
Etymology
From Middle French inutile, from Middle French, from Latin inutilis. By surface analysis, in- + utile.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪnˈjuːtaɪl/
Adjective
inutile (comparative more inutile, superlative most inutile)
- (obsolete) useless; unprofitable.
- Synonyms: unuseful, unutilizable
- Antonyms: utile; useful
- 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
- wormwood, and the like, […] dissipate and digest any inutile or excrementitious moisture which lieth in the flesh
- 1840, John Rogers, Anti-popery: Or, Popery Unreasonable, Unscriptural, and Novel, page 191:
- The undermediators are not required, have nothing properly to do, no peculiar duty to perform; but are an unprofitable or inutile set of beings sitting down and looking at each other through want of other occupation.
French
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin inūtilis (“useless”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
inutile (plural inutiles)
- useless, unnecessary, pointless
- Synonyms: superfétatoire, superflu, vain
- Antonyms: utile, nécessaire, indispensable
Usage notes
- Not to be confused with inutilisable (“unusable”).
Derived terms
Further reading
- “inutile”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Italian
Etymology
From Latin inūtilis, from in- + ūtilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /iˈnu.ti.le/
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -utile
- Hyphenation: i‧nù‧ti‧le
Adjective
inutile m or f (plural inutili)
- useless, unnecessary, needless
- ineffective
- Synonym: ineffettivo
Antonyms
Related terms
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ɪˈnuː.tɪ.ɫɛ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [iˈnuː.t̪i.le]
Adjective
inūtile
- nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of inūtilis
Middle French
Adjective
inutile m or f (plural inutiles)