un ‧ help ‧ ful /ʌnˈhelpf ə l/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ help , ↑ helper , ↑ helpfulness ≠ ↑ unhelpfulness , ↑ helping , ↑ helplessness ; adverb : ↑ helpfully ≠ ↑ unhelpfully , ↑ helplessly ; adjective : ↑ helpful ≠ ↑ unhelpful , ↑ helpless ; verb : ↑ help ]
not helping in a situation and sometimes making it worse:
The authorities are being particularly unhelpful.
—unhelpfully adverb
—unhelpfulness noun [uncountable]