needlessly
Americanadverb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dario was horrified as he watched his colleagues be fired one by one, which he considered needlessly cruel.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
Ben Duckett was caught behind off Mitchell Starc for a breezy 27, Zak Crawley played all around Michael Neser to be lbw for 16 and Jacob Bethell needlessly poked at Scott Boland on 10.
From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026
Drummond tells Milchick to apologize for using “a needlessly complex word for a simple idea.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 17, 2025
Instead of heading clear from a PSV corner, Van Dijk needlessly raised his arm to block the ball.
From Barron's • Nov. 26, 2025
When you are cruel you cause someone to suffer needlessly.
From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
