unhelpful
adjective
un·help·ful
ˌən-ˈhelp-fəl 
Southern often -ˈhep-,
also -ˈheəp-
: offering no assistance : not helpful
a rude, unhelpful person
a confusing and unhelpful textbook
unhelpfully
adverb
unhelpfulness
noun
Examples of unhelpful in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Among freelance leaders, there is broad belief that government policies are generally unhelpful to freelancing.
—
Jon Younger, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Others talked evasively about Marley, using only trite, unhelpful sound bites.
—Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Suppressing or denying negative emotions, such as anger, inadequacy and frustration can exacerbate negativity and lead to an accumulation of unhelpful emotions that ultimately diminish your quality of life.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
The hypermasculine nicknames were profoundly unhelpful in identifying person and place.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
However, that talk of love and futures strikes me as being particularly unhelpful to you.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
Without a deep understanding of users’ intentions and goals, agents can be perceived as unhelpful or, worse, actively annoying.
—Joanne Chen, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
The emails from Meta were always polite, but unhelpful.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 15 Jan. 2024
Amazon said the chatbot is still under development and might sometimes offer unhelpful suggestions.
—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
Jon Younger, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Others talked evasively about Marley, using only trite, unhelpful sound bites.
—Rob Tannenbaum, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024
Suppressing or denying negative emotions, such as anger, inadequacy and frustration can exacerbate negativity and lead to an accumulation of unhelpful emotions that ultimately diminish your quality of life.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
The hypermasculine nicknames were profoundly unhelpful in identifying person and place.
—Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
However, that talk of love and futures strikes me as being particularly unhelpful to you.
—Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024
Without a deep understanding of users’ intentions and goals, agents can be perceived as unhelpful or, worse, actively annoying.
—Joanne Chen, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
The emails from Meta were always polite, but unhelpful.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 15 Jan. 2024
Amazon said the chatbot is still under development and might sometimes offer unhelpful suggestions.
—Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unhelpful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near unhelpful
Cite this Entry
“Unhelpful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unhelpful. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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