uselessness

noun

1
as in futility

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2
as in pointlessness

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Dissimilar Words

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 uselessness The goal isn't to restrict agents into uselessness. — Ajay Pundhir, Forbes.com, 16 Apr. 2026 The fear of uselessness explains why the banker Eric Tao (Ken Leung) leaves a cushy retirement to get back to finance, even at the cost of neglecting his kids. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 2 Mar. 2026 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 Scott has not much to do as the cheerfully dorky dad who takes to Seattle like a duck to water, but his very uselessness is part of the joke and then part of the plot. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for uselessness
  1. futility
  2. pointlessness
  3. ineffectiveness
  4. meaninglessness
  5. insignificance
  6. inanity
  7. emptiness
Noun
  • Waller correctly identifies the futility of adding more experts to central planning, which is inherently flawed, but mistakenly believes the Fed could be better without these panels.
    — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • But given the profundity of her subject matter and the near-universal awe her art inspires, perhaps this sense of futility gestures at the incomprehensible, even transcendent aura around Petviashvili’s works.
    — The Editors of ARTnews, ARTnews.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of futility
Noun
  • The battle that follows — a muddy and mean scrum — is even more ghastly, partly for its utter pointlessness.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 June 2026
  • Such expeditions can turn into a Buddhistic exercise in enlightened pointlessness.
    — Alex Ross, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Definition of pointlessness
Noun
  • But Messi’s lack of influence owed less to his own ineffectiveness than to Spain’s dominance, which starved him of the ball, leaving him to feed off scraps.
    — Jack Lang, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • The commission has been plagued by partisan infighting and ineffectiveness, as well as chronic vacancies and a lack of funding.
    — Jen Fifield, ProPublica, 10 July 2026
Definition of ineffectiveness
Noun
  • The game’s meaninglessness didn’t matter to the raucous sellout crowd that packed SoFi Stadium.
    — Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026
  • The game's meaninglessness didn't matter to the raucous sellout crowd that packed SoFi Stadium — dubbed Los Angeles Stadium by FIFA for the World Cup.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 26 June 2026
Definition of meaninglessness
Noun
  • Artist Meredith Reynolds believed Platner’s past paled into insignificance when compared with his opponents.
    — David Millward, The Washington Examiner, 7 June 2026
  • Problems shrink into insignificance.
    — Shilo Urban, Travel + Leisure, 19 May 2026
Definition of insignificance
Noun
  • But the flight to extremism, and the metastasizing inanity, is a two-party problem, and those of us who are Democrats and who care about the importance of regrowing the dormant (if not dead) political center have an obligation to try to do something about it.
    — Jeffrey Robbins, Boston Herald, 4 May 2026
  • The post-liberals stand for cruelty and inanity, but Brooks can’t admit to standing for much of anything at all.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 30 Mar. 2026
Definition of inanity
Noun
  • Gone are the extended multi-part suites and intricate guitar workouts, replaced by slight, tender melodies engulfed in a striking emptiness.
    — Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 19 July 2026
  • Years of waiting for his return were answered with disappointing emptiness, a frustration that could be permanent if McGregor never sets foot in another octagon.
    — Mark Puleo, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of emptiness

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Cite this Entry

“Uselessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/uselessness. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of uselessness for Spanish Speakers

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