useless

[ yoos-lis ]
See synonyms for: uselessuselesslyuselessness on Thesaurus.com

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

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

Origin of useless

1
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 for useless

Opposites for useless

Other words from useless

  • use·less·ly, adverb
  • use·less·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use useless in a sentence

  • Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is to uselessness what Henry Ford was to the automobile.

    Invest in Africa, Not Facebook | Noah Kristula-Green | May 18, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • For others life is but a foolish leisure with mock activities and mimic avocations to mask its uselessness.

  • He even opened his lips to speak, but closed them again with a sense of the uselessness of the attempt.

    Dorothy at Skyrie | Evelyn Raymond
  • She was longing to urge her to leave Craddock Dene, but was deterred by the knowledge of the uselessness of such advice.

  • Not having anything else to do, and her uselessness vexing her, she took to doctoring the poor and concocting medicines.

  • It does not wear its antiquity as an excuse for sinking into mouldering uselessness.

    Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers

British Dictionary definitions for useless

useless

/ (ˈjuːslɪs) /


adjective
  1. having no practical use or advantage

  2. informal ineffectual, weak, or stupid: he's useless at history

Derived forms of useless

  • uselessly, adverb
  • uselessness, 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