useless

UK /ˈjuːs.ləs/ US /ˈjuːs.ləs/

adj 4

Definitions

adj

Without use or the possibility to be used.

This fork's prongs are bent. It's useless now.

I'm all for opening new stations (Transport Scotland is planning another at East Linton, about halfway between Drem and Dunbar), but they are useless without a decent service.

Unhelpful, not useful; pointless (of an action).

I think it's useless to keep this discussion going. It's like talking to a brick wall.

I tried my best to make him quit smoking, but my efforts were useless. He now smokes six packs a day.

Good-for-nothing; not dependable.

Bill never mows the lawn, takes out the trash or anything. He's useless, but I love him anyways.

Of a person, Unable to do well at a particular task or endeavor.

My brother is useless at most computer games, but he is an awesome PS2 player.

Why do you keep trying? You're obviously useless at it.

Collocations

(adj.) of no use

VERBS

be, feel, prove

His attempts to fix the broken computer felt completely useless after an hour of trying.

become

leave sth, make sth, render sth

The heavy rain made the dirt road completely useless for driving.

reject sth as

The committee rejected his proposal as useless because it had no practical value.

ADV

bloody

This bloody useless printer has been broken for three weeks now.

absolutely, completely, entirely, quite, totally, utterly, wholly

worse than

A broken umbrella is worse than useless when it rains heavily.

all but, almost, practically, virtually

largely

fairly, pretty

equally

Both solutions seemed equally useless when we tried to fix the broken printer.

PREP

My old phone is pretty useless as a camera these days.

for

These old batteries are useless for powering the remote control anymore.

My old laptop is completely useless in helping me finish this project quickly.

These old computer files are completely useless to anyone working on modern projects.

(adj.) weak/not successful

VERBS

ADV

bloody

This bloody useless printer keeps jamming every single time I try to print something important.

completely

pretty

PREP

My brother is completely useless at cooking, so we always order pizza when he visits.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

Antonyms

useful
utile

Idioms & Phrases

useless as tits on a boar hog

Ineffectual, pointless.

Example Bank

This fork's prongs are bent. It's useless now.

Wiktionary

I'm all for opening new stations (Transport Scotland is planning another at East Linton, about halfway between Drem and Dunbar), but they are useless without a decent service.

Wiktionary

I think it's useless to keep this discussion going. It's like talking to a brick wall.

Wiktionary

It's useless to keep on thinking any more.

Tatoeba · #1486

For once in my life I'm doing a good deed... And it is useless.

Tatoeba · #3257

There are 5 computers in the house, but 2 of them are useless.

Tatoeba · #24248

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, useless is marked as derogatory, colloquial. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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