inutile en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ɪnˈjuːtaɪl/
Etymology
From Middle French inutile, from Latin inutilis. Philippine usage is likely from Tagalog inutil, from Spanish inútil, from the same source. By surface analysis, in- + utile.
Meanings
-
(qualifier:obsolete outside Philippines) useless; unprofitable.
He had already demanded the attention of the manager, Professor Bulge, Draycott and two underlings to his case and they were now involved in a babel of inutile reiteration.
1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:wormwood, and the like, […]dissipate and digest any inutile or excrementitious moisture which lieth in the flesh
1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:Senator Hontiveros does not strike me as a naive politician. I am certain she knows that lifestyle checks are inutile. Yet, she responded favorably to this drollery, with the proviso that the President includes himself in the farcical charade, which (in sham fashion) Marcos has obliged.
2025 September 5, Van Ybiernas, “The most dangerous forms of corruption are subtle and below the radar”, in The Manila Times, retrieved 07 Sep 2025:The undermediators are not required, have nothing properly to do, no peculiar duty to perform; but are an unprofitable or inutile set of beings sitting down and looking at each other through want of other occupation.
1840, John Rogers, Anti-popery: Or, Popery Unreasonable, Unscriptural, and Novel, page 191:
-
(Philippines) useless (of a person); inept.
Is President Duterte so inutile that his Cabinet members and other appointees do not consult him on very important matters? Harry Roque said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana did not consult the President regarding the termination of the UP-DND Accord.
2021 January 28, Raffy Rey Hipolto, “No consultation with the President?”, in The Philippine Daily Inquirer, retrieved 07 Sep 2025:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more inutile | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most inutile | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |