USELESS: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for USELESS?

Need another word that means the same as “useless”? Find 31 synonyms and 30 related words for “useless” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Useless” are: futile, pointless, purposeless, impractical, vain, in vain, to no purpose, to no avail, unavailing, bootless, nugatory, hopeless, unusable, ineffectual, inefficacious, impotent, fruitless, unprofitable, profitless, unproductive, unachievable, sisyphean, incompetent, ineffective, worthless, incapable, inept, inadequate, weak, bad, no good

Useless as an Adjective

Definitions of "Useless" as an adjective

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “useless” as an adjective can have the following definitions:

• Having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully.
• Having no ability or skill in a specified activity or area.
• Not fulfilling or not expected to achieve the intended purpose or desired outcome.

Synonyms of "Useless" as an adjective (31 Words)

bad	Feeling physical discomfort or pain tough is occasionally used colloquially for bad. A bad diet.
bootless	Unproductive of success. Remonstrating with him seems ever to have been a bootless task.
fruitless	Failing to achieve the desired results; unproductive or useless. A banana leaf from a fruitless palm.
futile	Producing no result or effect. A futile attempt to keep fans from mounting the stage.
hopeless	(informal to emphasize how bad it is) beyond hope of management or reform. The situation is hopeless.
impotent	(of a man) abnormally unable to achieve an erection. He was seized with an impotent anger.
impractical	Not practical; not workable or not given to practical matters. Impractical high heels.
in vain	Currently fashionable.
inadequate	Lacking the quality or quantity required; insufficient for a purpose. Inadequate funding.
incapable	Unable to behave rationally or manage one’s affairs. Incapable of carrying a tune.
incompetent	Showing lack of skill or aptitude. An incompetent secret service.
ineffective	Lacking the ability or skill to perform effectively; inadequate. An ineffective administration.
ineffectual	Lacking in power or forcefulness. An ineffectual campaign.
inefficacious	Not producing the desired effect. Laws that are inefficacious in stopping crime.
inept	Not elegant or graceful in expression. Inept handling of the account.
no good	Quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of.
nugatory	Useless or futile. A nugatory law.
pointless	Having little or no sense, use, or purpose. My pencils are all pointless.
profitless	Without profit or reward. A long and profitless public row.
purposeless	Having no aim or plan. A life essentially purposeless.
sisyphean	Both extremely effortful and futile.
to no avail	Quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of.
to no purpose	Quantifier; used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns for indicating a complete or almost complete lack or zero quantity of.
unachievable	(of an aim or objective) too difficult to be achieved. An unachievable political goal.
unavailing	Achieving little or nothing; ineffective. An unavailing attempt.
unproductive	Not producing desired results. Unproductive meetings.
unprofitable	(of a business or activity) not yielding profit or financial gain. The mines became increasingly unprofitable.
unusable	Not fit to be used. The steps were overgrown and unusable.
vain	Having no likelihood of fulfilment; empty. A vain boast.
weak	Relating to or denoting the weakest of the known kinds of force between particles which acts only at distances less than about 10 cm is very much weaker than the electromagnetic and the strong interactions and conserves neither strangeness parity nor isospin. Their problems arose from fielding weak teams in league matches.
worthless	Lacking in usefulness or value. That promise is worthless.

Usage Examples of "Useless" as an adjective

• A piece of useless knowledge.
• He was useless at football.
• We tried to pacify him but it was useless.
• She is useless in an emergency.
• A kitchen full of useless gadgets.

Associations of “Useless” (30 Words)

bootless	Unproductive of success. Remonstrating with him seems ever to have been a bootless task.
breakage	The quantity broken. There had been three breakages in the overhead wires.
counterproductive	Having the opposite of the desired effect. Child experts fear the Executive s plans may prove counterproductive.
execrable	Extremely bad or unpleasant. Execrable crimes.
fruitless	(of a tree or plant) not producing fruit. A banana leaf from a fruitless palm.
futile	Producing no result or effect. A futile effort.
futilely	In a futile and unproductive manner.
garbage	Rubbish or waste, especially domestic refuse. A garbage dump.
gratuitous	Unnecessary and unwarranted. Gratuitous violence.
ineffective	Lacking in power or forcefulness. A weak and ineffective president.
ineffectual	(of a person) lacking the ability or qualities to fulfil a role or handle a situation. An ineffectual campaign.
inefficiency	The state of not achieving maximum productivity; failure to make the best use of time or resources. The idea is to eliminate inefficiency creating a seamless manufacturing process.
infertile	(of land) unable to sustain crops or vegetation. An infertile couple.
invalid	No longer valid. An officer invalided by a chest wound.
misfire	(of a nerve cell) fail to transmit an electrical impulse at an appropriate moment. He didn t know that his plan had misfired.
nihilism	The doctrine of an extreme Russian revolutionary party c.1900 which found nothing to approve of in the established social order.
nugatory	Useless or futile. The teacher shortages will render nugatory the hopes of implementing the new curriculum.
obsolete	Cause a product or idea to become obsolete by replacing it with something new. The phrase was obsolete after 1625.
paltry	Contemptibly small in amount. A paltry wage.
powerless	Without ability, influence, or power. Troops were powerless to stop last night s shooting.
superfluous	More than is needed, desired, or required. The purchaser should avoid asking for superfluous information.
trivia	Something of small importance. We fill our days with meaningless trivia.
trivial	Concerned with trivialities. Trivial details.
unavailing	Producing no result or effect. An unavailing attempt.
unproductive	Not producing or able to produce large amounts of goods, crops, or other commodities. Unproductive land must be reforested.
vain	Having no likelihood of fulfilment; empty. A vain attempt.
valueless	Of no value. Cherished but valueless heirlooms.
void	Declare that (something) is not valid or legally binding. What were once the masterpieces of literature are now void of meaning.
wasted	(of an action) not producing the desired result. A wasted effort.
worthless	Morally reprehensible. A worthless idler.