useless

adjective

use·​less ˈyüs-ləs 

: having or being of no use:

a

: ineffectual

a useless attempt

b

: not doing or not able to do what is needed

a dull, useless knife

An antibiotic is useless in treating this disease.

uselessly adverb

uselessness noun

Synonyms of useless

• impractical
• unusable
• unsuitable

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

Dollars that could have made it to the classroom instead went to useless interest payments. — Jennifer Custer, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026

What remains that haven’t been scavenged have decomposed to the point where DNA analysis is difficult and all but useless in Gaza, where there are no functioning laboratories able to test and compare samples. — Bilal Shbeir, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

Jennifer, for her part, is pretty sure that the information on Dennis’s burner phone is completely useless. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 8 July 2026

The data underneath that shift doesn't say agents are useless. — Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

useless

adjective

use·​less ˈyüs-ləs 

: having or being of no use

uselessly adverb

uselessness noun