worthless
adjective
worth·less
ˈwərth-ləs 
2
: contemptible, despicable
a worthless criminal
worthlessly
adverb
worthlessness
noun
Examples of worthless in a Sentence
The boots may be nice, but they're worthless if they don't fit you.
She's depressed and believes that she's worthless.
Recent Examples on the Web
But those paper rights were essentially worthless as the oilfield lay in waters whose ownership was disputed by Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.
—
Hugo Miller, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024
And while Neumann is worth approximately $2.3 billion according to Bloomberg, the 2019 IPO fumble meant many staffers’ stock options were rendered worthless.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024
The game’s characters, which some players would trade to sell for thousands of dollars — so valuable that some Filipinos took out loans to buy them — became worthless.
—Eli Tan Jes Aznar, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Much of the land was unpopulated and virtually worthless tracts that lacked development.
—Curtis Varnell The Timepiece, arkansasonline.com, 25 Feb. 2024
Unrest escalates in Lebanon as currency collapses and prospect of hunger grows
Public services and the people that staff them have borne the brunt of the financial crisis, with salaries becoming nearly worthless after the currency lost most of its value.
—Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2024
The talks are now dead — a Hong Kong court has ordered Evergrande’s liquidation, and the bonds are nearly worthless, trading in secondary markets at just 1 cent on the dollar.
—Alice Huang, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024
Conditions at home kept worsening, and her husband, a butcher with his own small business, faced extortion even as the local currency was all but worthless.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 9 Mar. 2024
That for-profit company took OpenAI from worthless to a valuation of $90 billion in just a few years — and Altman is largely credited as the mastermind of that plan and the key to the company’s success.
—David Goldman, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
Hugo Miller, Fortune Europe, 2 Apr. 2024
And while Neumann is worth approximately $2.3 billion according to Bloomberg, the 2019 IPO fumble meant many staffers’ stock options were rendered worthless.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024
The game’s characters, which some players would trade to sell for thousands of dollars — so valuable that some Filipinos took out loans to buy them — became worthless.
—Eli Tan Jes Aznar, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Much of the land was unpopulated and virtually worthless tracts that lacked development.
—Curtis Varnell The Timepiece, arkansasonline.com, 25 Feb. 2024
Unrest escalates in Lebanon as currency collapses and prospect of hunger grows
Public services and the people that staff them have borne the brunt of the financial crisis, with salaries becoming nearly worthless after the currency lost most of its value.
—Washington Post, 25 Feb. 2024
The talks are now dead — a Hong Kong court has ordered Evergrande’s liquidation, and the bonds are nearly worthless, trading in secondary markets at just 1 cent on the dollar.
—Alice Huang, Fortune, 9 Feb. 2024
Conditions at home kept worsening, and her husband, a butcher with his own small business, faced extortion even as the local currency was all but worthless.
—Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY, 9 Mar. 2024
That for-profit company took OpenAI from worthless to a valuation of $90 billion in just a few years — and Altman is largely credited as the mastermind of that plan and the key to the company’s success.
—David Goldman, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'worthless.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Articles Related to worthless
Dictionary Entries Near worthless
Cite this Entry
“Worthless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worthless. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
worthless
adjective
worth·less
ˈwərth-ləs
2
: deserving of hatred or pity
a worthless coward
worthlessly
adverb
worthlessness
noun
More from Merriam-Webster on worthless
Nglish: Translation of worthless for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of worthless for Arabic Speakers
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