to put effort into doing something unproductive and completely unnecessary

to undertake something that is pointless

to pursue a goal or aspiration that is unrealistic or unlikely to be achieved

to completely fail to produce the intended or expected effect

to fail to achieve the desired results

used to refer to something, such as a chance, idea, etc., that has been completely wasted or neglected

to fail to produce or achieve the desired result

to fail to achieve success

with no success achieved or no progress made

to engage in a fruitless or pointless activity

to waste too much money, resources, or effort on doing something that proves to be unfulfilling in the end

a pursuit or search for something that is unlikely to produce any useful result

to come to realize what could have been done to prevent something bad from happening after it has already happened

to make an attempt to achieve something that seems extremely difficult or even impossible

to make a fruitless attempt in order to make something look more beautiful or successful

to make a fruitless attempt to solve a problem

to disagree with or continue arguing about a decision that is already made