useless

[yoos-lis]

adjective

1. of no use; not serving the purpose or any purpose; unavailing or futile.

   It is useless to reason with him.

   Synonyms: inutile, worthless, valueless, profitless, fruitless
   Antonyms: effective

2. without useful qualities; of no practical good.

   a useless person; a useless gadget.

   Synonyms: unusable, unserviceable

useless

/ ˈjuːslɪs /

adjective

1. having no practical use or advantage

2. informal,  ineffectual, weak, or stupid

   he's useless at history

Other Word Forms

• uselessly adverb
• uselessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of useless¹

First recorded in 1585–95; use + -less

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Before the summer break, he qualified and finished 12th at the Hungarian Grand Prix, calling himself "useless" after failing to make Q3.

From BBC

“He’s getting stronger and faster. We can’t block him in practice at all. It’s useless.”

From Los Angeles Times

Colman suggests that I might play back this interview and realize it’s completely useless.

From Los Angeles Times

Since then, Hamilton and Ferrari have struggled for competitiveness, and Hamilton ended the first part of the season saying at the Hungarian Grand Prix that he was "just useless" and "drove terribly".

From BBC

"What I'm selling isn't a workstation, but the dignity of not being a useless person," he says.

From BBC

Related Words

• counterproductive 
• fruitless 
• futile 
• hopeless 
• idle 
• impractical 
• incompetent 
• ineffective 
• ineffectual 
• inoperative 
• meaningless 
• pointless 
• stupid 
• unproductive 
• unworkable 
• worthless