adjective

useless

YOOS-luhs

adjective

Not able to be used; serving no practical purpose.

"A phone with a dead battery is useless."

"The instructions were useless — nobody could follow them."

Informal: bad at something; incompetent.

"I'm useless at remembering names."

How to Use Useless

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishHaving no use, or (informally) being no good at something.

Common pairings

completely useless useless at render something useless

more useless comparative, uselesser comparative, most useless superlative, uselessest superlative

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Can you complete this real example?

A phone with a dead battery is _____.

From use + -less.

skillful useful

skillful feckless inept pointless useful futile skilled

ageless wireless hopeless homeless tireless careless lifeless baseless clueless timeless loveless nameless

skillful useful feckless inept pointless futile skilled