— uselessly , adv. — uselessness , n.
/yoohs"lis/ , adj.
1. of no use; not serving the purpose or any purpose; unavailing or futile: It is useless to reason with him.
2. without useful qualities; of no practical good: a useless person; a useless gadget.
[ 1585-95; USE + -LESS ]
Syn. 1. fruitless, profitless, valueless, worthless, inutile. USELESS, FUTILE, INEFFECTUAL, VAIN refer to that which is unavailing. That is USELESS which is unavailing because of the circumstances of the case or some inherent defect: It is useless to cry over spilt milk. FUTILE suggests wasted effort and complete failure to attain a desired end: All attempts were futile. That which is INEFFECTUAL weakly applies energy in an ill-advised way and does not produce a desired effect: an ineffectual effort. That which is VAIN is fruitless or hopeless even after all possible effort: It is vain to keep on hoping. 2. unserviceable, unusable.
Ant. 1. effective.