1
as in futility
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2
as in pointlessness
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Recent Examples of uselessness
Holding back tears, Marta called out the uselessness of comparing this season to last year’s championship run.
—
Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2025
Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uselessness
Noun
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Perhaps the fire had been a sign, the universe trying to teach me about the impermanence of objects and the futility of collecting.—
Kenneth Turan,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
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In 2025, without Puig, the only records the Galaxy set were for futility, starting the season winless in their first 16 league matches and finishing with just seven wins, a franchise low for a full season.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Such expeditions can turn into a Buddhistic exercise in enlightened pointlessness.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
24 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Goff pointed to ineffectiveness on first down in the second half, forcing the offensive line into situations where Los Angeles could turn to its powerful pass rush.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 Dec. 2025
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Mike Vrabel has blamed his squad’s ground ineffectiveness on his RB stable being too ball-security focused.—
Brad Evans,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Could meaninglessness itself be a message?—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
14 Nov. 2025
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The meaninglessness made Kinney’s use of the phrase reach a sort of ultra-virality that has been steadily growing all year.—
Alphonse Pierre,
Pitchfork,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Problems shrink into insignificance.—
Shilo Urban,
Travel + Leisure,
22 Nov. 2025
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Her difficulty lay in her distance from the random violence of insignificance.—
Rachel Cusk,
New Yorker,
24 Aug. 2025
Noun
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In which SpongeBob and Gary the Snail have a conversation about string cheese, and the Flying Dutchman goes crazy at the sheer inanity of it.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
21 Dec. 2025
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The inanity and nihilism is still there, but tinged with something darker and more permanent, a sense that the rules of capitalism changed.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
19 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Instead, the general indifference shown toward its own story — or, at least, the best versions of it — comes to emphasize the emptiness at its core.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
8 Jan. 2026
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He was left with an unfamiliar emptiness.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Uselessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uselessness. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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