| futile attempt | 5.86 | It was a futile attempt, of course. | ||
| futile effort | 3.23 | It was a futile effort. | ||
| futile exercise | 1.05 | This was a futile exercise. | ||
| futile battle | 0.86 | But he believes that the grouping is not altogether fighting a futile battle. | ||
| futile gesture | 0.66 | On its face, the resolution may seem a futile gesture. | ||
| futile search | 0.66 | In their futile search, NHIS officials were remiss. | ||
| futile bid | 0.39 | Others sported straw hats in a futile bid to keep their hair clean. | ||
| futile pursuit | 0.39 | He popped up and resumed his futile pursuit. | ||
| futile war | 0.39 | But he has no doubt that the United States waged a futile war. | ||
| futile defense | 0.33 | Thailand depleted its foreign exchange reserves in a futile defense of the baht last spring. | ||
| futile dive | 0.26 | With each futile dive through the near-freezing water, Bullimore lost strength. | ||
| futile hope | 0.26 | She bent toward the screen in futile hope of glimpsing a familiar face. | ||
| futile one | 0.26 | Mostly, though, it seems a futile one. | ||
| futile plea | 0.26 | While Israelis and Palestinians traded sharp words, Annan made a seemingly futile plea for calm. | ||
| futile run | 0.26 | Despite their futile run in the third, the outcome of the game was never in question. | ||
| futile stab | 0.26 | This was the voice in my ear mocking our own futile stabs at getting a drink. |