worthless

[ wurth-lis ]

adjective

1. without worth; of no use, importance, or value; good-for-nothing:

   a worthless person; a worthless contract.

worthless

/ ˈwɜːθlɪs /

adjective

1. without practical value or usefulness
2. without merit; good-for-nothing

Derived Forms

• ˈworthlessness, noun
• ˈworthlessly, adverb

Other Words From

• worthless·ly adverb
• worthless·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of worthless¹

First recorded in 1580–90; worth ¹ + -less

Example Sentences

He might dismiss Guillermo, the household’s human companion, as worthless, but when old Gizmo needed to trust someone with a potentially deadly secret, Laszlo kept it for him.

From Salon

Ivana proudly discloses they are cubic zirconia — fake and worthless — showing the AIDS-stricken Cohn what Trump really thinks of him.

From Salon

If a half-senile demagogue can knock down supposedly powerful institutions like nine-pins, then our own personal rights, backed up not by money and power but by a scrap of parchment in the hands of a corrupt court, are worthless.

From Salon

Restaurants are closing and car break-ins are so common that people complain that thieves sometimes steal worthless items like old rags.

From Los Angeles Times

The deflated dinghies and abandoned life jackets on these beaches may look worthless, but someone will have paid huge sums for what they hoped was a route to a better life.

From BBC

Related Words

• barren
• bogus
• futile
• inconsequential
• ineffective
• insignificant
• meaningless
• mediocre
• pointless
• unimportant
• unproductive
• unprofitable
• unusable
• useless