| Main Entry: | fruitless |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | bringing no advantage, product |
Synonyms: |
abortive, barren, empty, futile, gainless, idle, in vain, ineffective, ineffectual, infertile, pointless, profitless, spinning one's wheels, sterile, to no avail, to no effect, unavailable, unavailing, unfruitful, unproductive, unprofitable, unprolific, unsuccessful, useless, vain, wild goose chase |
Antonyms: |
copious, fruitful, plentiful, potent, productive, profitable, successful, useful |
| Main Entry: | red herring |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | misleading clue |
Synonyms: |
attention-grabber, bait, commotion, curve ball, deviation, distraction, distractor, disturbance, diversion, diversionary tactic, false clue, false face, false trail, fool's errand, gimmick, interruption, maneuver, ploy, smoke screen, wild-goose chase |
| Main Entry: | search |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | seeking to find something |
Synonyms: |
chase, examination, exploration, fishing expedition, frisking, going-over, hunt, inquest, inquiry, inspection, investigation, legwork, perquisition, pursual, pursuance, pursuing, pursuit, quest, research, rummage, scrutiny, shakedown, wild-goose chase, witch hunt |
Antonyms: |
finding |
| Main Entry: | wild-goose chase |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | hopeless case |
Synonyms: |
bootless errand, fool's errand, lost cause, merry chase, red herring, snipe hunt, vain attempt, waste of time, wasted effort, wasted labor |