ENGLISH
REFERENCE

useless

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford US //ˈjusɫəs// UK //jˈuːsləs// use·less General-service Informal Vulgar

adj. not working well or not helpful at all. You use this to describe something that has no purpose or a person who is not good at a specific task.

adj. having no practical use or serving no purpose; ineffective or incompetent in a specific capacity. Often carries a disparaging tone when applied to people.


SIMPLE

This broken umbrella is useless in the rain.

CONTEXTUAL

I tried to fix the leaky faucet with a wrench, but it was useless because the pipe was completely rusted.

COMPLEX

The committee's final report was deemed useless by the board, as it failed to address the core financial discrepancies that had triggered the investigation in the first place.

Antonyms
Origin

From use + -less.

Usage

Typically used as a predicative adjective after a linking verb or as an attributive adjective before a noun.

Idioms1 entry

© 2026 English Reference