useless
Word family
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++use·less /ˈjuːsləs/ ●●○ adjective 1 USELESSnot useful or effective in any way 无用的；无效的 OPP useful The doctor concluded that further treatment would be useless. 医生下了结论，进一步治疗是无益的。 a website full of useless information 充斥着无用信息的网站virtually/completely/totally etc useless Water had got into the radio, and now it was completely useless. 收音机进了水，现在完全不能用了。useless for The land is useless for growing crops. 这片土地种不了庄稼。it is useless to do something It was useless to complain. 抱怨没有用。worse than useless (=not useful and in fact causing harm or problems) 有害无益 The map was so out-of-date it was worse than useless. 这地图太老了，用了比没用还糟糕。2 informalUSELESS unable or unwilling to do anything properly 差劲的，无能的 Don’t ask Tim to fix it. He’s completely useless. 别叫蒂姆来修理，他根本不行。 —uselessly adverb —uselessness noun [uncountable]n COLLOCATIONSadverbscompletely/totally/absolutely uselessThe treatment is completely useless.wholly/entirely uselessFrom his point of view qualifications are wholly useless.virtually/almost/practically uselessThese flaws could make the software virtually useless in a business environment.quite useless British English (=completely useless)The vehicle proved quite useless on rocky ground. pretty/fairly uselessThe book is pretty useless for today's students.verbsrender something uselessShe has a debilitating condition which renders her legs virtually useless.make something uselessSalt water flooded into the land making it useless for farming.prove uselessPolice checkpoints proved useless at stopping the suicide bombers.phrasesworse than useless (=not useful, and causing harm or problems)It would be worse than useless to try and complain about him.Examples from the Corpus
useless• Of course we need to test children's ability, but some of these exams are worse than useless.• There's no point reading the instructions - they're completely useless.• And even as she prayed and wished, she knew, deep inside, that it was all useless.• Had I an opportunity I should have great pleasure in giving you a few hints on this subject which might not be useless.• If the nerve fails to pass on the correct signals, the limb becomes useless.• As a secretary, she was useless.• I tried calling the tax office but they were completely useless.• It's time you traded the car in, before it becomes utterly useless.• I had to remind myself that worrying is a useless activity.• Antibiotics are useless against viral infections such as influenza.• When their job is done they are judged useless, and killed or thrown out.• Numerous studies show that dieting is useless and may even cause weight gain.• The lifejackets turned out to be useless, because they didn't inflate properly.• I kept useless collections of stamps, seashells, postcards, rocks, delighting in their deadly neatness.• Jay's car was 20 years old, and useless for anything but a short journey to the local shops.• That's a nice watch, but it's useless for going underwater.• This book is useless! I can't find any of the information I need.• It was useless now to ask for help from my mother.• a useless piece of information• Despite that military expenditure, there are many situations where the military is useless, says Edward Djerejian.• Jenny decided to say nothing. It was useless to argue.• He knew it was useless to pretend to be innocent.• Presumably, my files will be completely useless to whoever stole them.• It's useless trying to talk to you when you've had a drink.• She gave me a video, but of course it's useless without a player.• It think it would be useless writing to the company -- they haven't even returned my calls.• I feel useless, you know what I mean?it is useless to do something• It was useless to discuss the finances any further.use·less adjective →n COLLOCATIONS1LDOCE OnlineChineseSyllable
or useful Corpus any in not way effective
useless
use‧less /ˈjuːsləs/
adjective
OPP useful:
The doctor concluded that further treatment would be useless.
a website full of useless information
virtually/completely/totally etc useless
Water had got into the radio, and now it was completely useless.
useless for
The land is useless for growing crops.
it is useless to do something
It was useless to complain.
worse than useless (=not useful and in fact causing harm or problems)
The map was so out-of-date it was worse than useless.
2. informal unable or unwilling to do anything properly:
Don’t ask Tim to fix it. He’s completely useless.
—uselessly adverb
—uselessness noun [uncountable]
■ adverbs
▪completely/totally/absolutely useless The treatment is completely useless.
▪wholly/entirely useless From his point of view qualifications are wholly useless.
▪virtually/almost/practically useless These flaws could make the software virtually useless in a business environment.
▪quite useless British English (=completely useless) The vehicle proved quite useless on rocky ground.
▪pretty/fairly useless The book is pretty useless for today's students.
■ verbs
▪render something useless She has a debilitating condition which renders her legs virtually useless.
▪make something useless Salt water flooded into the land making it useless for farming.
▪prove useless Police checkpoints proved useless at stopping the suicide bombers.
■ phrases
▪worse than useless (=not useful, and causing harm or problems) It would be worse than useless to try and complain about him.
▪ pointless not likely to have a useful result: She knew it would be pointless to argue with him. | The meeting was a pointless exercise.
▪futile completely pointless because there is no chance at all of being successful: She shut the door in a futile attempt to keep the smell out. | Their efforts proved futile (=did not have any success).
▪useless not useful or effective in any way: I knew it was useless to try to explain to him what had happened. | The map we had been given was useless.
▪hopeless having no hope of being successful or effective: It was a hopeless task. | He was jumping up and down in a hopeless attempt to keep warm.
▪be a waste of time/money/effort to be not worth the time, money etc that you use because you do not achieve anything: The whole process was a complete waste of time. | The scheme was a waste of money.
use‧less /ˈjuːsləs/
adjective Word Family: noun: usage, use, disuse, misuse, reuse, usefulness ≠ uselessness, user; adjective: reusable, used ≠ unused, disused, useful ≠ useless, usable ≠ unusable; verb: use, misuse, reuse; adverb: usefully ≠ uselessly
1. not useful or effective in any way OPP useful:
virtually/completely/totally etc useless
useless for
it is useless to do something
worse than useless (=not useful and in fact causing harm or problems)
2. informal unable or unwilling to do anything properly:
—uselessly adverb
—uselessness noun [uncountable]
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