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uselessness

uselessness

6 4.3
A state in which something does not help or have value
  • noun
  • /ˈjuːsləsnəs/
translation icon : inutilidad
  • She often battled with feelings of uselessness when she couldn't contribute to the team's success.

It would be so easy for me to just sit here and continue vomiting this, this uselessness from my mouth.

Examples

  • Where we could be very depressed by a sense of uselessness and boredom.

  • I have a sense of what causes episodes of anger, depression, and uselessness that he goes through.

    Blog text (32)
  • I saw a bit on television about the uselessness of a college education.

    Blog text (20)
  • I wonder what she tells her students about the uselessness of the appendix.

    Blog text (21)
  • There is instead only a future of estrangement and social uselessness.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Symptoms include loneliness, uselessness and a crushing sense of regret.

  • You can do five minutes on the uselessness of psychiatry after he's through.

  • As his heartbeat lessened, Harvey's sense of uselessness diminished.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • After losing his job, he was overwhelmed by a sense of uselessness that affected his self-esteem.

  • The project failed, and many employees expressed feelings of uselessness as they struggled to find their roles.

Synonyms

futility
vsuselessness
29 7.0

A feeling or situation when something is useless because it cannot succeed

describes a general state of no practical value rather than failed attempts
meaninglessness
vsuselessness
4 7.6

A feeling that what you do has no purpose or value

narrows this to lacking practical value rather than broader meaning
worthlessness
vsuselessness
3 6.3

A feeling that you have no value or importance

focuses on lack of practical value rather than general low value
pointlessness
vsuselessness
2 6.2

A state when something has no purpose or use

highlights practical lack rather than mere absence of purpose
impracticality
vsuselessness
1 6.8

A situation when something cannot work well in everyday life

means a general state of no practical value rather than design unsuitability
unusefulness
vsuselessness
9.2

A situation when something is not helpful and has no clear purpose

has the same meaning but differs only in word form
inutility
vsuselessness
  • Archaic
9.9

A state of not being useful

expresses the same practical absence but with different wording
unusability
vsuselessness
7.5

A condition where something cannot be used

refers to lack of practical value rather than physical failure to work

Antonyms

40 1.6

How much something helps people in practical situations

How Useful

necessity
274 2.0
value
1.3
utility
63 3.5
usefulness
40 1.6
uselessness
6 4.3

Surface Forms

uselessness singular
uselessnesses plural

Morphology

uselessness = useless (transparent) = use + less + ness

The suffix '-ness' forms a noun indicating a state or quality from the adjective 'useless'.

Etymology

Uselessness is built from three simple parts: use meaning 'to do something with', less meaning 'without', and the ending -ness meaning 'state'. So uselessness is the state of being 'without use', which is why it means having no practical value.