needlessly
Americanadverb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The impact is muted because it instantly clarifies how needlessly trivial everything before it was.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Ms. Day has the young writer’s weakness for showing off knowledge and she needlessly indulges in essay-like digressions on rhetorical terms and Latin etymologies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Ravindra needlessly skied Atkinson and Nicholls edged Archer, keeping the home side in the contest.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
"Henry was far from the first to so needlessly lose his life, and I fear he won't be the last."
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
I half ran hack to the car, feeling needlessly afraid.
From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
