Learn Arabic › B1 › عَبَث
عَبَث
futility /ˈʕa.baθ/
nounB1#2267 most common
Also: absurdity, meddling, tampering, frivolity
Example sentences
هٰذا عَبَث.
This is futile.
حاوَلْتُ كَثيراً لٰكِنْ عَبَثاً.
I tried hard, but in vain.
مَمنوعٌ العَبَثُ بِالأجهِزَة.
Tampering with the devices is forbidden.
يَشعُرُ أحياناً بِأنَّ حَياتَهُ مُجَرَّدُ عَبَث.
Sometimes he feels his life is mere futility.
العَبَثُ بِنَتائِجِ الانتِخاباتِ جَريمَةٌ خَطيرَة.
Tampering with the election results is a serious crime.
يَرى الفَيلَسوفُ أنَّ مُقاوَمَةَ عَبَثِ الوُجودِ لا تَكونُ إلّا بِخَلقِ المَعنى بِأنفُسِنا.
The philosopher holds that resisting the absurdity of existence comes only through creating meaning ourselves.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | عَبَثٌ | |
| Genitive | عَبَثٍ | |
| Accusative | عَبَثاً | |
| Vocative | يا عَبَثُ |
Word family
عَبِثَto tamper, meddle, play
عابِثfrivolous, trifling
عَبَثِيّabsurd, futile
عَبَثِيّةabsurdism
عَبَثاًin vain, for nothing
Etymology
The word comes from the Semitic triliteral root ع-ب-ث (ʿ-b-th), tied to the verb عَبِثَ, meaning to play, trifle, or meddle. As a verbal noun it names the act itself: doing something to no purpose. From the same root Arabic later built العَبَثِيّة, the term for philosophical absurdism.
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