unhelpful

adjective un·help·ful \ ˌən-ˈhelp-fəl ; Southern often -ˈhep- also -ˈheəp- \

Updated on: 19 May 2018

Definition of unhelpful

: offering no assistance : not helpful

a rude, unhelpful person

a confusing and unhelpful textbook

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unhelpfully

adverb

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unhelpfulness

noun

See unhelpful defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of unhelpful from the Web

Hiram literally hangs up on him and is beyond unhelpful, further proving Mark Consuelos is up to no good.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "Riverdale Season 2, Episode 21 Recap: The Black Hood's Identity Is Revealed—For Real," 9 May 2018
Rudy Giuliani’s recent comments in interviews seem both unhinged and unhelpful.

— sean illing, Vox, "Did Rudy Giuliani just get Trump in legal trouble? I asked 11 legal experts.," 3 May 2018
Release the things that no longer serve you, whether that's toxic thinking, unhelpful habits, or stale relationships, and embrace your uninhibited aspirations.

— aliza kelly faragher, Allure, "What May's Taurus Horoscope Means for You," 26 Apr. 2018
All this and the care receiver is acting unhelpful and moving slowly.

— michele parente, sandiegouniontribune.com, "How to cope with the emotions of caregiving," 24 Apr. 2018
In these transactions, iOS's wording is also unhelpful.

— lily hay newman, WIRED, "'Trustjacking' Could Expose iPhones to Attack," 18 Apr. 2018
Up the road in Houston, the Rockets were proving unhelpful as well.

— jeff mcdonald, San Antonio Express-News, "Playoff bid in their crosshairs, Spurs score big W," 8 Apr. 2018
Third, too many San Franciscans conflate homelessness and street crime, which is inaccurate and unhelpful.

— heather knight, San Francisco Chronicle, "Clean up San Francisco’s streets, tourist industry pleads," 17 Apr. 2018
The sudden emergence of an aggressive anticorruption agency is unhelpful to her pitch, which is aimed at such countries as China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, not exactly models of financial probity.

— suzi ring, Bloomberg.com, "Britain’s White-Collar Cops Are Getting Too Good at Their Job," 1 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unhelpful.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of unhelpful

circa 1616

in the meaning defined above

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unhelpfulness

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