useless
Americanadjective
-
of no use; not serving the purpose or any purpose; unavailing or futile.
It is useless to reason with him.
- Synonyms:
- inutile, worthless, valueless, profitless, fruitless
- Antonyms:
- effective
-
without useful qualities; of no practical good.
a useless person; a useless gadget.
- Synonyms:
- unusable, unserviceable
adjective
-
having no practical use or advantage
-
informal ineffectual, weak, or stupid
he's useless at history
Related Words
Useless, futile, ineffectual, vain refer to that which is unavailing. That is useless which is unavailing because of the circumstances of the case or some inherent defect: It is useless to cry over spilt milk. Futile suggests wasted effort and complete failure to attain a desired end: All attempts were futile. That which is ineffectual weakly applies energy in an ill-advised way and does not produce a desired effect: an ineffectual effort. That which is vain is fruitless or hopeless even after all possible effort: It is vain to keep on hoping.
Other Word Forms
- uselessly adverb
- uselessness noun
Etymology
Origin of useless
Explanation
When all else fails, you still have the word useless. Use this adjective when nothing is working and there is no hope of improvement. Less means "without." So something that is useless has no use or value, at least at the present time. Long ago, many blacksmiths concluded it was useless to try to get by making horseshoes after the automobile caught on. Their tools and supplies? Useless, so they thought. They moved on to other careers. Some even bought Fords. Fast forward about a hundred years. Ask antiques dealers if is it useless to present artifacts for sale to history buffs.
Vocabulary lists containing useless
Good Riddance
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 8
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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.
Worries about inflation have caused some seniors to stampede into gold instead, even though that is highly speculative, functionally useless and pays no dividends at all.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026
Diminishing the hurt from people who have been directly affected by gun violence is a useless, cruel task.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
“If you develop a wonderful protocol,” she told Time, “it’s useless if nobody uses it.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
The illustration showed a cow proudly standing next to a strange collection of useless objects labeled as tools.
From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026
“Think about what you just did. You comforted a soul in her darkest moment. You did that with no training, no guidance, nothing but the kindness of your own heart. Is that useless, Gingersnipes? Kindness?”
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
