worthless

adjective

worth·​less ˈwərth-ləs 

1

a

: lacking worth : valueless

worthless currency

b

: useless

worthless to continue searching

2

: contemptible, despicable

a worthless criminal

worthlessly adverb

worthlessness noun

Synonyms

• chaffy
• empty
• junky
• no-good
• null
• vain
• valueless

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

The markets are already speaking: The U.S. dollar now trades for more than 1 million rials, an almost 75 percent increase from a few months ago, making the Iranian currency among the most worthless in the world (in 2015, when Iran last signed a deal with the U.S., the dollar was just 29,500 IRR). —Arash Azizi, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2025

For his part, Zelenskyy tried to say that any agreement with Putin was worthless, as Rubio pointed out. —Tom Zirpoli, Baltimore Sun, 11 Mar. 2025

What this means isn’t that this music is cheap or worthless. —Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 30 Mar. 2025

So restricted in scope as to be nearly worthless and thus is rarely utilized. —Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

worthless

adjective

worth·​less ˈwərth-ləs 

1

a

: lacking worth : valueless

b

: useless

worthless to continue searching

2

: deserving of hatred or pity

a worthless coward

worthlessly adverb

worthlessness noun