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useless

useless

481 1.0
Not able to do the job it is made for
  • adjective
  • /ˈjuːsləs/
: inútil
  • The broken printer is useless and needs to be repaired.
  • useless information
  • feel useless
  • render useless

And the other half are not just useless, they're beyond useless.

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Examples

  • It's useless and hopeless, I suppose.

  • Our weapons seemed useless against him.

  • The doctor here is useless.

  • Why would I want to carry around useless weights with me?

  • Is it not possible for you and me to make poems out of completely useless information?

    Academic text (2015)
  • I was haunted by the thought of how useless it had been to create something.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • However, without water, the land was useless, so they requested water rights and they were granted.

    Academic text (2008)
  • It's low grade, it's useless and it won't work.

  • A scientific theory, even if it's elegant, is useless if it's false.

  • Sometimes I slack, some days I'm pretty useless, other days I work really hard.

Synonyms

no-good
vsuseless
  • Informal
548 5.6

Bad or worthless and often causing trouble

is about inability to perform intended function rather than general worth
worthless
vsuseless
273 3.0

Has no value or use

points to not being effective or helpful in practical use
meaningless
vsuseless
204 5.1

Having no meaning, value, or purpose

focuses more narrowly on practical failure rather than lack of meaning
no use
vsuseless
188 2.5

An action that will not help

expresses the practical lack of help or effectiveness stated by the key
pointless
vsuseless
161 3.5

Not doing anything useful

is the general description of failing to be helpful or effective
ineffective
vsuseless
83 3.4

Not working well enough to give the wanted result

covers general lack of practical use not only failure to achieve results
futile
vsuseless
75 6.0

Not likely to work or help

highlights lack of practical usefulness rather than only being pointless emotionally
impractical
vsuseless
35 5.3

Not sensible or likely to work in real life

means it fails to be helpful or effective in actual use
superfluous
vsuseless
22 7.0

More than what is needed or useful

is about not being helpful or effective rather than being surplus
unproductive
vsuseless
20 3.8

Not giving useful or wanted results

is broader, covering any lack of helpfulness beyond production outcomes
good-for-nothing
vsuseless
  • Offensive
19 6.8

Not useful or worth much

focuses on failing to help or perform, not just on low merit
unhelpful
vsuseless
17 3.0

Not giving useful help or advice

covers general lack of effectiveness beyond simply failing to help someone
unusable
vsuseless
15 2.3

Damaged or broken so it does not work

describes lack of helpfulness or effectiveness rather than mere physical unfitness
waste of energy
vsuseless
8 2.9

An action that uses effort but achieves nothing useful

is about lacking helpfulness or function, not only wasted effort
8 3.9

An activity that uses your time but does not help you

is focused on failing to be helpful rather than just being unproductive
unneeded
vsuseless
7 2.3

Not necessary or useful in a situation

refers to absence of practical usefulness rather than mere unnecessary excess
purposeless
vsuseless
4 5.3

Not done for any clear reason or useful result

emphasizes lack of practical usefulness rather than absence of aim alone
nonfunctional
vsuseless
3 4.4

Not working or broken

focuses on failing to work rather than on general lack of help
nonproductive
vsuseless
2 4.5

Not giving useful results or helping to finish work, like a meeting

is about not helping in practice rather than only production contexts
1 4.3

A thing like time or money that is completely useless and gives no benefit

is the practical lack of helpfulness or effectiveness rather than rhetorical emphasis
functionless
vsuseless
1 5.0

Not working or useful for any purpose

is about failing to be helpful or effective in practical tasks
good-for-naught
vsuseless
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Not useful and having little value

describes lack of practical usefulness rather than only low value
unuseful
vsuseless
1 5.2

Not able to do what is needed

describes failure to perform intended tasks rather than mere impracticality
unfunctional
vsuseless
1 8.2

Not useful for everyday tasks

describes inability to perform an intended practical function rather than just unsuitability
nonpurposive
vsuseless
8.8

Not done with a clear aim or useful reason

is about lacking practical usefulness rather than absence of deliberate aim
as useful as a hole in the head
vsuseless
  • Informal
9.8

Not helpful and not wanted in any situation

states practical inability to help or perform without the idiomatic tone
as useless as tits on a boar hog
vsuseless
  • Offensive
9.9

Something that has no real purpose or value

is the plain description of failing to work or be helpful
as useful as a bag of dicks
vsuseless
  • Offensive
9.9

Completely without help for any task

is the neutral description of inability to serve practical function

Completely useless in real situations

gives the straightforward idea of not being helpful or effective

Antonyms

865 1.0

Helps you do practical tasks or solve a problem

Idioms

Something that has no real purpose or value

Compounds

useless bumf
  • Slang
9.9

Paper documents that are not needed and waste time

How Useful

essential
49 2.4
useful
865 1.0
helpful
722 1.0
usable
54 2.3
ineffective
83 3.4
useless
481 1.0
worthless
273 3.0

Surface Forms

useless positive
uselesser comparative
uselessest superlative

Morphology

useless = use (transparent) = use + less

The meaning is directly derived from 'use' with the suffix '-less' indicating absence or lack of use.

Etymology

Useless comes from the simple word use ('to use') and the ending -less meaning 'without'. So something useless is literally 'without use' and cannot do what it should or help you.