useless

[ yoos-lis ]

/ ˈyus lɪs /

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See synonyms for: useless / uselessly / uselessness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of no use; not serving the purpose or any purpose; unavailing or futile: It is useless to reason with him.

without useful qualities; of no practical good: a useless person; a useless gadget.

OTHER WORDS FOR useless

1 fruitless, profitless, valueless, worthless, inutile.

2 unserviceable, unusable.

See synonyms for useless on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR useless

1 effective.

See antonyms for useless on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of useless

First recorded in 1585–95; use + -less

synonym study for useless

1. 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 WORDS FROM useless

use·less·ly, adverbuse·less·ness, noun

How to use useless in a sentence

Yet one of the biggest problems with neural network-based deep learning is that such systems are very good at discovering correlations, but often useless for figuring out causation.
A.I. needs to get real—and other takeaways from this year’s NeurIPS|Jeremy Kahn|December 15, 2020|Fortune
“Nofollow links are useless” is probably one of the most common SEO misconceptions you will ever come across.
Crowd marketing: A link building method that only 2% use to rank higher on Google|Andrei Cucleschin|December 15, 2020|Search Engine Watch
The Indiana GOP is still not long-removed from the days of Mike Pence and RFRA, and we suggest Hoosier Republicans get with the times and stop creating useless political theater that does nothing but destroys our trust and divides the state.
Supreme Court rejects challenge to same-sex parents on birth certificates|Chris Johnson|December 14, 2020|Washington Blade
A dead phone is pretty much useless until you can find a charging point.
How your phone’s low power mode actually works|David Nield|December 2, 2020|Popular-Science

That’s because the gas inside those fuel canisters tends to gel up when the mercury plummets, making them tricky to use and sometimes completely useless.
The Best Winter Car-Camping Upgrades|Bryan Rogala|November 24, 2020|Outside Online
She drops to the floor on her knees, her head bowed, and the gun falls and skitters uselessly across the wooden floor.
Speed Read: 12 Naughty Bits From ‘50 Shades Darker’|Lizzie Crocker|May 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Afterward, Christy and her friend sit uselessly on a couch while the men plot the expansion of Facebook.
The Social Network's Female Props|Rebecca Davis O'Brien|October 3, 2010|DAILY BEAST
It would be the just man immolating himself uselessly and hopelessly for his country.
Madame Roland, Makers of History|John S. C. Abbott
The giving up of these papers was a first pledge, uselessly made by the Guises to the queen-mother.
Catherine de' Medici|Honore de Balzac
But they only churned uselessly in the drift; their hoofs could find no footing, save the yielding masses of snow.
The White Desert|Courtney Ryley Cooper
My duty is to the citizens of the federated governments, and I cannot uselessly sacrifice more lives.
The Onslaught from Rigel|Fletcher Pratt
In South America most of the countries retrograded, and the whole continent was drenched with blood uselessly shed.
Argentina|W. A. Hirst

British Dictionary definitions for useless

useless

/ (ˈjuːslɪs) /

adjective

having no practical use or advantage

informal ineffectual, weak, or stupidhe's useless at history

Derived forms of useless

uselessly, adverbuselessness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

useless

OTHER WORDS FOR useless

OPPOSITES FOR useless

Origin of useless

synonym study for useless

OTHER WORDS FROM useless

Words related to useless

How to use useless in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for useless

Derived forms of useless