useless

[yoos-lis] / ˈyus lɪs /

ADJECTIVE

not working; not valuable

Synonyms

STRONGEST

counterproductive fruitless futile hopeless idle impractical incompetent ineffective ineffectual inoperative meaningless no good pointless stupid unproductive unworkable worthless

WEAK

abortive bootless disadvantageous dysfunctional expendable feckless good-for-nothing impracticable inept inutile nonfunctional of no use profitless purposeless scrap unavailable unavailing unfunctional unprofitable unpurposed unusuable vain valueless waste weak

Antonyms

STRONGEST

effective fruitful hopeful meaningful productive profitable sensible useful valuable worthwhile

WEAK

helpful usable working

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I am also useless at accepting gifts or invitations - even ones like that - and we never took that trip to Barca.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

I’ve seen too many parents of friends and family find out their long-term care plans are basically useless, which is why I am not interested in long-term care insurance.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 28, 2026

Diminishing the hurt from people who have been directly affected by gun violence is a useless, cruel task.

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026

The illustration showed a cow proudly standing next to a strange collection of useless objects labeled as tools.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

We’d be more OK on time if she’d scraped her hair into a ponytail and skipped the makeup, but that’s a useless thought to have when we’re less than thirty minutes out from exam time.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Vocabulary lists containing useless

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