useless

adjective

use·​less ˈyüs-ləs 

: having or being of no use:

a

: ineffectual

a useless attempt

b

: not doing or not able to do what is needed

a dull, useless knife

An antibiotic is useless in treating this disease.

uselessly adverb

uselessness noun

Synonyms of useless

• impractical
• unusable
• unsuitable

Examples of useless in a Sentence

The tent is useless in wet conditions.

I made a useless attempt at fixing the leak.

Drugs are useless in treating the condition.

Recent Examples on the Web

Maps had become useless; streets and landmarks washed away or hidden. —Literary Hub, 17 June 2026

Some of us choose to stay away from X, Instagram and the like, so posting a bunch of screenshots with links to additional story info on social media apps is useless. —Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026

Short for Transparent Secure Memory Encryption, TSME encrypts the entire contents stored in memory, making the data useless to physical attackers. —Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 15 June 2026

This is not to say all the full coverage formulas in your makeup bag are now useless—there’s a time and place for everything. —Reece Andavolgyi, InStyle, 15 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

useless

adjective

use·​less ˈyüs-ləs 

: having or being of no use

uselessly adverb

uselessness noun