Collocation Dictionary
Common collocations with futile in American Collocation
in the end
ultimately
People ran in a desperate and ultimately futile attempt to escape the fire.
completely
completely
quite
utterly
Boycotting the company’s products was seen as an utterly futile gesture.
to some or a great extent
largely
rather
somewhat
Attempts to change the situation proved largely futile.
attempt
debate
discussion
effort
exercise
gesture
search
struggle
Many feel that voting changes nothing and is a futile exercise.
be
prove
seem
The police did their best to maintain control, but their attempts proved futile.