as in unnecessary
not needed by the circumstances or to accomplish an end
needless expenditures that pushed the construction project way over budget
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Recent Examples of needless
Policing experts say officer who fired fatal shots may have placed himself at needless risk by standing in front of Renée Good’s vehicle.
—
Mark Berman, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2026
Stay focused to avoid dividing your effort among needless minutiae.
—Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Give Jayden Daniels some help And not necessarily in play style; Daniels showed improvement this season in getting down (mostly diving), and his three injuries — the knee, the hamstring and the elbow — weren’t the result of needless hits, at least not by his own doing.
—Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
With this in mind, DIYers are aiming to remove needless clutter and cut down on expensive, over-the-top aesthetic choices.
—Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for needless
Mark Berman, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2026
Stay focused to avoid dividing your effort among needless minutiae.
—Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Give Jayden Daniels some help And not necessarily in play style; Daniels showed improvement this season in getting down (mostly diving), and his three injuries — the knee, the hamstring and the elbow — weren’t the result of needless hits, at least not by his own doing.
—Nicki Jhabvala, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2026
With this in mind, DIYers are aiming to remove needless clutter and cut down on expensive, over-the-top aesthetic choices.
—Timothy Dale, The Spruce, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for needless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for needless
unnecessary
Adjective
-
Santeiro, 63, of Miami Lakes, was found guilty in March 2022 of nine counts of healthcare fraud, including conspiring with others to bill $112 million to private insurers for detox services that were never provided or were medically unnecessary at two substance-abuse facilities in Broward County.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
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No roadways are closed but unnecessary travel is discouraged.—
Cheryl Vari,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Needless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/needless. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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