adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1. 1
   Not bearing fruit. figuratively

   "Despite going on for two hours, her search was unfruitful."

Adjective

1. 1
   not fruitful; not conducive to abundant production wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

acarpouschildlessabortivearidbarrencelibate

Antonyms

All antonyms

fruitfulplentiful

Example

More examples

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."

Etymology

From Middle English unfruytful; equivalent to un- + fruitful.

Related phrases

bear fruit

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.