The word/phrase for a worthless work to do?

Question

At first sight it might seem ———— to talk about freedom of speech within authoritative regimes.

I want to say it is fruitless, has no result, in vain, useless, to talk about freedom of speech within dictatorships.

What is a good word or phrase for the blank? Or maybe one of those I already mentioned is good?

The word vain can be used on its own, by the way: it might seem vain to ... Or there's naive, (or naïve), over-optimistic, Pollyannaish. (I think bootless may have had its day!) it might seem like whistling Dixie to ...! — Old Brixtonian, Jul 11, 2022 at 7:56
@OldBrixtonian "vain" only has that meaning when used as an attributive adjective, like "vain attempt". Your use sounds like it means they have a high opinion of themself. — Barmar, Jul 11, 2022 at 19:30
@Barmar it is vain to talk about. There's a famous line of Jeremy Bentham's: It is vain to talk of the interest of the community, without understanding what is the interest of the individual.' — Old Brixtonian, Jul 11, 2022 at 22:31
'Fruitless' sounds perfect - if it's 'fruitless' alone, not anything like 'a fruitless work to do.' Either way, in my view word, phrase or expression requests should be promoted to their own specialised community, perhaps named 'Vocabulary.' — Robbie Goodwin, Sep 6, 2022 at 19:41

Hefe · Accepted Answer · 2022-07-11 14:48:14Z

-1

Counterintuitive might be a good choice here. You could also say unproductive or ill-fitting.

answered Jul 11, 2022 at 14:48

Hefe

1114 bronze badges

1

That fits in the blank, but I don't think it expresses the OP's intent.
– Barmar
Jul 11, 2022 at 19:27

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