worthless

adjective

ˈwərth-ləs How to pronounce worthless (audio)
Definition of worthlessnext
as in empty
having no usefulness that expensive toy is worthless now that it's broken

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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 worthless Second, the hacker had ignored valuable data on Hugging Face’s servers in search of worthless answers to a test. — Stephen Witt, New Yorker, 30 July 2026 On top of that, his degree from a for-profit college - which was later sued over alleged deception - seemed worthless. — Jennifer Ludden, NPR, 30 July 2026 Are the things left uncaptured by the camera worthless to a movie? — Zachary Lee, IndieWire, 27 July 2026 Indispensable software gets more expensive, while inefficient software becomes worthless. — George Wells, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for worthless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worthless
  1. empty
  2. cheap
  3. flawed
  4. no-good
  5. vain
Adjective
  • After coming up empty all night, the Angels finally broke the scoreless tie in the eighth.
    — Kyle Glaser, Oc Register, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The luxury pods — complete with lie-flat beds and sliding privacy doors — could be entirely off-limits when departure day rolls around, sitting completely empty at 35,000 feet.
    — Edward Russell, CNN Money, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of empty
Adjective
  • Culturelle probiotics tend to be cheaper than Align products and are ideal for those with frequent diarrhea.
    — BestReviews, Chicago Tribune, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Birmingham26, the organisers, say that half of their 250,000 tickets — across morning and evening sessions — are £30 or cheaper.
    — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of cheap
Adjective
  • The senior colleague was ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, but Leo claimed that the investigation was flawed because of its focus on his mental illness.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Summary The sight of empty offices on pleasant days is prompting a re-evaluation of commercial real estate, but experts argue occupancy is a flawed metric for office value.
    — Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of flawed
Adjective
  • The question now is how the Giants can make the most of a bad, no-good situation.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 14 July 2026
  • And with nary a golfer from the upstart tour within eight strokes of Round 2 leader Wyndham Clark at 7 under par, LIV’s no-good, very bad 2026 continued Friday.
    — Matt Schubert, New York Times, 20 June 2026
Definition of no-good
Adjective
  • Hoult’s Gilderoy Lockhart a notoriously vain, boastful and fame-obsessed wizard well versed in Memory Charms who is recruited by Dumbledore as Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 11 Aug. 2026
  • They are expected to become wiser but not louder, visible but not vain, accomplished but not demanding, and well-preserved but not provocative.
    — Debbie Millman, Time, 25 July 2026
Definition of vain

Browse Nearby Words

worthiness
worthless
worthlessness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Worthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worthless. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on worthless

Nglish: Translation of worthless for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of divulge

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All