worthless

American  

[wurth-lis] / ˈwɜrθ lɪs /

adjective

1. without worth; of no use, importance, or value; good-for-nothing.

   a worthless person; a worthless contract.

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worthless British  

/ ˈwɜːθlɪs /

adjective

1. without practical value or usefulness

2. without merit; good-for-nothing

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Other Word Forms

• worthlessly adverb
• worthlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of worthless

First recorded in 1580–90; worth ¹ + -less

Example Sentences

He spoke of how he lost his country home to regime supporters and lives on a pension that’s nearly worthless because of inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal

They seem to believe that the medical advances of the 19th and 20th centuries were worthless.

From Salon

"My shares have effectively been worthless for the last two or three years," said Richard.

From BBC

While the the items were recovered, shop owner Alex Badham said many cards were damaged by petrol in the failed getaway and were now practically worthless.

From BBC

The emails were fake, the invoices were fake—and the collateral was worthless, they alleged.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• barren
• bogus
• futile
• inconsequential
• ineffective
• insignificant
• meaningless
• mediocre
• pointless
• unimportant
• unproductive
• unprofitable
• unusable
• useless