: having or being of no use:
a
: ineffectual
a useless attempt
b
: not able to give service or aid : inept
uselessly
adverb
uselessness
noun
Synonyms
Examples of useless in a Sentence
The tent is useless in wet conditions.
I made a useless attempt at fixing the leak.
Drugs are useless in treating the condition.
Recent Examples on the Web
This heat can easily burn out circuit boards, rendering them useless.
—
Michael Franco, New Atlas, 12 July 2024
The winner: My previously useless bug lamp sucked up a ton of mosquitoes thanks to the Octenol lures.
—Selene San Felice, Axios, 11 July 2024
Or a rocket body colliding with other orbiting objects, creating gazillions more pieces of hazardous space junk, could disable many other satellites, and suddenly many of our smartphone apps would be rendered useless.
—Ramin Skibba, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2024
Two years later, the panels have never been switched on and the company that installed them—Titan Solar—has abruptly gone out of business, leaving Palmer with a shiny but useless array on her roof.
—Alana Semuels, TIME, 26 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for useless 
Michael Franco, New Atlas, 12 July 2024
The winner: My previously useless bug lamp sucked up a ton of mosquitoes thanks to the Octenol lures.
—Selene San Felice, Axios, 11 July 2024
Or a rocket body colliding with other orbiting objects, creating gazillions more pieces of hazardous space junk, could disable many other satellites, and suddenly many of our smartphone apps would be rendered useless.
—Ramin Skibba, Rolling Stone, 6 July 2024
Two years later, the panels have never been switched on and the company that installed them—Titan Solar—has abruptly gone out of business, leaving Palmer with a shiny but useless array on her roof.
—Alana Semuels, TIME, 26 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for useless
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'useless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Useless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/useless. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
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