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
Our worst nightmare is that weather forecast offices will be so understaffed that there will be needless loss of life.
—
Louis Uccellini, Sun Sentinel, 13 May 2025
The Leafs were given a gift when Greig took a needless holding penalty early in the third period.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Another subject will be Ian Paterson, the surgeon who left hundreds of patients disfigured after carrying out needless operations.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2025
The stringent measures led to a bitter dispute between he and the drivers, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton dismissing Ben Sulayem’s approach as a needless power play.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for needless
Louis Uccellini, Sun Sentinel, 13 May 2025
The Leafs were given a gift when Greig took a needless holding penalty early in the third period.
—Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Another subject will be Ian Paterson, the surgeon who left hundreds of patients disfigured after carrying out needless operations.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Apr. 2025
The stringent measures led to a bitter dispute between he and the drivers, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton dismissing Ben Sulayem’s approach as a needless power play.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for needless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for needless
unnecessary
Adjective
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Patrick Boel, managing director at real estate developer Roundhouse, said most of the land the company owns is in areas where the new zoning code already provides for high-density housing, large heights and no parking requirements, making any incentives unnecessary.—
Carolyn Komatsoulis,
Idaho Statesman,
26 May 2025
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The move comes as Trump has looked for ways to cut spending deemed unnecessary, and the Treasury estimates halting the production of pennies will save $85 million. — CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Dan Mangan, Ashley Capoot, Annika Kim Constantino and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.—
Michele Luhn,
CNBC,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Needless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/needless. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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