useless

adjective

ˈyüs-ləs How to pronounce useless (audio)
Definition of uselessnext
1
as in impractical
not capable of being put to use or account a garage full of useless junk

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in futile
producing no results a useless attempt to reach an agreement

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of useless Cook rushed for 111 yards before his latest fumbling woes for the Bills, while Allen got more than 100 of his yards rushing on scrambles, repeatedly escaping the pocket and rendering useless the Rams’ tenacious secondary coverage. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 Of course, these same politicians were nowhere to be found in the past six months of this useless war. — Colleen Kujawa, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026 People tend to think of waste as trash, sewage, slag, manure and other seemingly useless or disgusting substances. — Edward D. Melillo, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2026 Securing physical materials and open digital networks is useless if capabilities are fielded at the speed of bureaucracy. — Dan Driscoll, Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for useless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for useless
  1. impractical
  2. futile
  3. unusable
  4. unsuccessful
  5. unsuitable
Adjective
  • Their potential applications include modeling advanced materials and chemical reactions, optimizing complex logistics networks and addressing some computational problems that are impractical for today’s systems.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Spreadsheets cannot teach these dynamics, and real-world training may be dangerous, impractical or impossible.
    — Richard Clough, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of impractical
Adjective
  • Before the court fight was launched, Edwin Benn, the arbitrator who oversaw 2023 contract negotiations between the city and FOP, warned the City Council that any attempt to undermine his award to the union would be futile.
    — Sam Charles, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
  • It’s also brilliantly written as a futile, pathetic rebellion by men with zero agency or purpose in their own lives.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of futile
Adjective
  • At Lincoln Bay, Duke said their elevators sensed water and immediately went to the 10th floor, where they were locked in place and unusable until contractors cleared out the pit below.
    — Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Founded in 2022, The Alloy Market makes money by either refining unusable materials and taking a cut, or by listing usable items on their online resale marketplace.
    — Liz Knueven, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of unusable
Adjective
  • As the unsuccessful regime-change effort in Iran demonstrated, there are no shortcuts to besting the axis countries, together or individually.
    — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Von Dohlen, a financial adviser and conservative activist who has run three unsuccessful campaigns for City Council, was unopposed in the Republican primary.
    — Katie Bartlett, San Antonio Express-News, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of unsuccessful
Adjective
  • In a setting designed to make exceptional yachts desirable, explaining why a particular vessel is unsuitable requires commercial discipline.
    — Christoph Lymbersky, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • And the religious character of this language is by no means unsuitable to this project of science that was bathed in biblical metaphors from the get-go—Code name Trinity, to cite just one example.
    — Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of unsuitable

Browse Nearby Words

usefulness
useless
uselessness
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Cite this Entry

“Useless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/useless. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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