WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
use•less /ˈyuslɪs/USA pronunciation
adj.
use•less•ness, n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- of no use;
not serving the purpose or any purpose:useless information.[It + be + ~ + to + verb]:It was useless to complain. - without useful qualities;
of no practical good:He's useless at solving problems.
use•less•ness, n. [uncountable]
use•less
(yo̅o̅s′lis),USA pronunciation adj.
use′less•ly, adv.
use′less•ness, n.
- of no use;
not serving the purpose or any purpose;
unavailing or futile:It is useless to reason with him. - without useful qualities;
of no practical good:a useless person; a useless gadget.
- use + -less 1585–95
use′less•ness, n.
- 1. fruitless, profitless, valueless, worthless, inutile. Useless, futile, ineffectual, vain refer to that which is unavailing. That is useless which is unavailing because of the circumstances of the case or some inherent defect:It is useless to cry over spilt milk.Futile suggests wasted effort and complete failure to attain a desired end:All attempts were futile.That which is ineffectual weakly applies energy in an ill-advised way and does not produce a desired effect:an ineffectual effort.That which is vain is fruitless or hopeless even after all possible effort:It is vain to keep on hoping. 2. unserviceable, unusable.
- 1. effective.
'uselessly' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):