1
as in valuelessness
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2
as in inferiority
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Recent Examples of worthlessness
He is simultaneously convinced of his own worthlessness and angry with the world for failing to recognize his unlimited potential.
—
Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
Johnson said depression often manifests as persistent negative self-perception, hopelessness, feelings of worthlessness and social withdrawal.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 8 Mar. 2026
Kitty, whose worldly possessions fit into two plastic bags, is seen repeatedly in the same clothes, and bourgeois hostility to her presence in Beth’s middle-class neighborhood compounds her feelings of worthlessness.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2026
Feeling Worthless or Guilty Many people with depression grapple with feelings of worthlessness.
—Sarah Bence, Verywell Health, 15 Dec. 2025
Like regular depression, SAD can cause negative feelings like hopelessness, worthlessness, irritability, and guilt; fatigue or reduced energy; a loss of interest in hobbies and activities; and even physical aches and pains (including headaches, cramps, and digestive problems).
—Maggie O'Neill, SELF, 20 Oct. 2025
The feelings of postpartum depression — despair, guilt, shame and worthlessness — began creeping in.
—Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
As many as one in eight women in the United States will experience postpartum depression, which can manifest in feelings such as anger, social withdrawal, and worthlessness, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research.
—Jessica Zucker, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Apr. 2021
Big Think, 29 Apr. 2026
Johnson said depression often manifests as persistent negative self-perception, hopelessness, feelings of worthlessness and social withdrawal.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 8 Mar. 2026
Kitty, whose worldly possessions fit into two plastic bags, is seen repeatedly in the same clothes, and bourgeois hostility to her presence in Beth’s middle-class neighborhood compounds her feelings of worthlessness.
—Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2026
Feeling Worthless or Guilty Many people with depression grapple with feelings of worthlessness.
—Sarah Bence, Verywell Health, 15 Dec. 2025
Like regular depression, SAD can cause negative feelings like hopelessness, worthlessness, irritability, and guilt; fatigue or reduced energy; a loss of interest in hobbies and activities; and even physical aches and pains (including headaches, cramps, and digestive problems).
—Maggie O'Neill, SELF, 20 Oct. 2025
The feelings of postpartum depression — despair, guilt, shame and worthlessness — began creeping in.
—Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2025
As many as one in eight women in the United States will experience postpartum depression, which can manifest in feelings such as anger, social withdrawal, and worthlessness, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) research.
—Jessica Zucker, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Apr. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worthlessness
Noun
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More internal symptoms, like chronic emptiness and an unstable sense of self, take longer to shift.—
Angela Haupt,
Time,
11 June 2026
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Interstellar space is unforgivingly vast, but the emptiness has some advantages.—
Kai James,
The Conversation,
26 May 2026
Noun
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On the other hand, for white employees who do not believe in their ability to engage in similar courageous workplace actions, watching a white colleague engage in this type of action may elicit feelings of inferiority, leading to negative gossip about the individual who engaged in the action.—
Janice Gassam Asare,
Forbes.com,
10 Aug. 2025
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The phrase has become shorthand for a kind of national inferiority syndrome—a sense that Brazil, despite its grand ambitions and global flair, thinks of itself as a mutt trying to hang with pedigrees.—
Shannon Sims,
New Yorker,
30 July 2025
Noun
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Artist Meredith Reynolds believed Platner’s past paled into insignificance when compared with his opponents.—
David Millward,
The Washington Examiner,
7 June 2026
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What Choudary has in mind instead is a total redesign of work that forces today’s employees to choose between being a regular worker who quickly sinks into insignificance by automation, or functioning as an employee-preneur.—
Rachel Wells,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2026
Noun
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As if to prove that it can’t be exceeded in badness, Playdate has both.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Nov. 2025
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That’s the unfortunate dual-use conundrum associated with contemporary AI, allowing AI to be used for goodness and also for badness (see my analysis of the dangers of dual-use AI at the link here).—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Noun
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In his first lead movie role, Tim Robinson plays Craig Waterman, a man whose life of suburban adequacy is disrupted when local weatherman Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd) moves in down the street and platonically sweeps Craig off his feet.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
1 Dec. 2025
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Data primarily comes from hospital surveys focusing on patient safety, infection prevention, and adequacy of the nurse staffing.—
Anna Halkidis,
Parents,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The expansion of the genre tracks the broadening acceptability of erotic inclinations that were previously pathologized (and, at times, criminalized).—
Lily Burana,
The Atlantic,
1 July 2025
Noun
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What’s worrying to him is that abundance can masquerade as sufficiency.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 June 2026
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Some have raised concerns about the cleanup’s sufficiency.—
Michelle de la Uz,
New York Daily News,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Worthlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worthlessness. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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