futility
n. C1 Advanced US //fjuˈtɪɫəti// UK //fjuːtˈɪlɪti// fu·til·i·ty
n. the quality of being useless or having no point. You use this when you feel like your efforts are not making any difference at all.
n. the state or quality of being ineffective, pointless, or incapable of producing a desired result.
He felt a sense of futility after trying to fix the broken machine.
The long hours of work felt like a waste of time, leading to a deep sense of futility.
Despite the team's best efforts, the sheer scale of the disaster rendered their rescue mission a tragic exercise in futility.
From Latin fūtilitās (“worthlessness, futility”). By surface analysis, futile + -ity.