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
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.
“I was useless,” she says of “Bridesmaids,” in which she plays a relatively straight role.
From Los Angeles Times
“I shouted. I tried to argue. It was useless,” Imran said.
From Los Angeles Times
While her bureau “has funded a variety of VPNs and other internet freedom technologies, it is useless when the internet is shut down,” she wrote.
He had called the FDA a “failure,” writing in a blog post that it “rubber stamps too many useless products.”
"I think KG is a lot more involved in social media. I'm pretty useless on my phone," Markram told reporters.
From Barron's
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.
