worthless

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adjective worth·less \ ˈwərth-ləs \

Definition of worthless

1 a :lacking worth :valueless

worthless currency

b :useless

worthless to continue searching

2 :contemptible, despicable

a worthless criminal

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worthlessly

adverb

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worthlessness

noun

See worthless defined for English-language learners

See worthless defined for kids

Examples of worthless in a Sentence

The boots may be nice, but they're worthless if they don't fit you.
She's depressed and believes that she's worthless.

Recent Examples of worthless from the Web

Lundgren's pay was impacted by sagging performance: While he was paid $12.1 million, 82.8 percent of it was tied the company's sagging stock, including $4 million worth of (currently worthless) options.

— alexander coolidge, Cincinnati.com, "Who is the highest paid CEO among Cincinnati's public companies?," 22 Aug. 2017
All that aside, even perfectly aligned incentives are worthless if a politician lacks the moral compass and practical skills to govern well.

— conor friedersdorf, The Atlantic, "Scott Adams's Nihilistic Defense of Donald Trump," 21 Aug. 2017
Chicken and the egg: was my form, my essence, preventing me from being active, or were my static days, the Florida heat bleating harshly from pre-dawn to post-dusk, the cause of my worthless body?

— lindsay hunter, Longreads, "You Are a Jigsaw Puzzle with Missing Food-Shaped Pieces," 15 Aug. 2017
In a nation where malnutrition is soaring amid shortages of food and medicine, the nearly worthless currency, the bolívar, has entered free fall.

— mariana zuñiga, Washington Post, "Venezuela ushers in new pro-government chamber as opposition struggles to regroup," 4 Aug. 2017
But those lanes can easily be repurposed by motherboard makers for other uses, such as traditional SATA III ports or M.2 support, so its inclusion isn’t worthless by any means.

— brad chacos, PCWorld, "AMD Ryzen motherboards explained: The crucial differences in every AM4 chipset," 17 July 2017
In the movie, Groucho pitches worthless lots of land at Cocoanut Manor, a swamp next to his hotel, to the character played by Margaret Dumont, who would become the quintessential Groucho foil.

— joy wallace dickinson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Chill out with at-home Florida movie festival," 16 July 2017
The NBA’s worthless Summer League has become the bomb.

— nick canepa, sandiegouniontribune.com, "The jury is still out on Judge, and his rise to baseball icon," 15 July 2017
Trump Jr. said the information turned out to be worthless and was not used.

— mike cason, AL.com, "Alabama Senate candidates say little about Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting with Russian," 14 July 2017

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

First Known Use of worthless

circa 1577

worthless Synonyms

Synonyms

chaffy, empty, junky, no-good, null, vain, valueless

Antonyms

useful, valuable, worthy

Related Words

base, cheap, cheapjack, duff [British], inferior, lousy, low-grade, second-rate; bad, defective, dud, flawed, imperfect, substandard, unsatisfactory; deficient, inadequate, insufficient, unacceptable

Near Antonyms

invaluable, precious, priceless; cherished, esteemed, prized, treasured; choice, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, special

WORTHLESS Defined for English Language Learners

worthless

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adjective

Definition of worthless for English Language Learners

: having no financial value
: having no use, importance, or effect
: having no good qualities

WORTHLESS Defined for Kids

worthless

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adjective worth·less \ ˈwərth-ləs \

Definition of worthless for Students

1 :lacking worth

Play money is worthless.

2 :useless

worthless junk

Learn More about worthless

See words that rhyme with worthless Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for worthless Spanish Central: Translation of worthless Nglish: Translation of worthless for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of worthless for Arabic speakers

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Examples of worthless in a Sentence

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First Known Use of worthless

worthless Synonyms

Synonyms

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Related Words

Near Antonyms

WORTHLESS Defined for English Language Learners

worthless

Definition of worthless for English Language Learners

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