worthless

W4O1R1T1H4L1E1S1S1
UK/ˈwɜːθ.ləs/Canada, US/ˈwɝθ.ləs/

adjective

Having no worth or use; without value.

“Don’t be a worthless slouch! Go get yourself a job.”

Similar
inconsequentialmiserablepricelessuselessvaluelessbastardlyblowncacky
Opposite
precioususefulvaluableworthfulworthy
OriginMiddle English *worthles ← Old English weorþlēas →
Less commonScrabble 15
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Word of the Day · Jan 9, 2026

Meanings

adjectiveworthless (comparative more worthless or worthlesser, superlative most worthless or worthlessest)

comparative more worthless · comparative worthlesser · superlative most worthless · superlative worthlessest · alternative obsolete worthlesse · alternative pronunciation spelling wuffless

  1. Having no worth or use; without value.

    Don’t be a worthless slouch! Go get yourself a job.

    2 more examples

    Lies are as important as truth, for without lies, the truth is worthless.

    The committee’s decision is worthless and not going to be acted upon.

    Synonyms: inconsequential, miserable, priceless, useless, valueless, bastardly, blown, cacky · Antonyms: precious, useful, valuable, worthful, worthy, priceless

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveHaving no worth or use; without value.

Similar
inconsequentialmiserablepricelessuselessvaluelessbastardlyblowncackychaffycockingcrapaliciouscruddycullionlydraffishdraffydreckishdreckyduffingfloccinaucinihilipilificatiousfor the birds
Opposite
precioususefulvaluableworthfulworthypriceless

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivelacking in usefulness or value

Similar
chaffygood-for-nothinggood-for-naughtmeritlessmankynegligiblepaltrytrifling
Opposite
valuable

adjectivemorally reprehensible

Similar
despicableuglyvileslimyunworthywretchedevil
Also see
abjectchaffydespicableexpendablefecklessgood-for-naughtgood-for-nothinginsignificantmankymeritlessnegligibleno-accountno-countno-goodnot worth a brass farthingnugatoryotiosepaltrypointlesspurposelessrubbishysenselessslimysorrysuperfluoustenth-ratetinpottrashytriflinguglyunworthyvaluelessvilewastedwretched

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishweorþlēas“worthless”
  2. Middle English*worthles
  3. Englishworthless

From Middle English *worthles, from Old English weorþlēas (“worthless”), equivalent to worth + -less. Cognate with Dutch waardeloos (“worthless”), German wertlos (“worthless”), Swedish värdelös (“worthless”).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans waardeloos
  • waardeloosnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Ancient Greek μάταιος, οὐτιδανός
  • μάταιος (mátaios)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • οὐτιδανός (outidanós)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Arabic لَا قِيمَةَ لَهُ, حَقِير
  • لَا قِيمَةَ لَهُ (lā qīmata lahu)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • حَقِير (ḥaqīr)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Bulgarian непотребен, без стойност
  • непотребен (nepotreben)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • без стойност (bez stojnost)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Catalan inútil
  • inútilnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Chinese Mandarin 沒價值 /没价值, 不值錢 /不值钱
  • 沒價值 /没价值 (méijiàzhí)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • 不值錢 /不值钱 (bùzhíqián)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • 無用 /无用 (wúyòng)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Czech bezcenný
  • bezcennýnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Danish tarvelig, ubrugelig
  • tarvelignot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • ubrugelignot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • værdiløsnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Dutch waardeloos
  • waardeloosnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Esperanto senvalora, aĉa
  • senvaloranot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • aĉanot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • senutilanot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Estonian väärtusetu
  • väärtusetunot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Finnish arvoton, hyödytön
  • arvotonnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • hyödytönnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • turhanot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
French misérable, ne vaut rien
  • misérablenot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • ne vaut riennot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • nulnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • sans valeurnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
German wertlos, nutzlos
  • wertlosnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • nutzlosnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • nichtsnutzignot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Greek ανάξιος, άχρηστος
  • ανάξιος (anáxios)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • άχρηστος (áchristos)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • τιποτένιος (tipoténios)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Hebrew חסר ערך, חסר תועלת
  • חסר ערך (ḥɑsɑr ereḥ)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • חסר תועלת (ḥɑsɑr toʿelet)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • עלוב (ʿɑluv)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Hindi असार, बेकार
  • असार (asār)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • बेकार (bekār)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Hungarian értéktelen
  • értéktelennot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Irish galair
  • galairnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Italian inutile, insignificante
  • inutilenot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • insignificantenot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • senza valorenot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Japanese 詰まらない, 無価値な
  • 詰まらない (tsumaranai)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • 無価値な (mukachi na)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • 軽賎な (keisen na)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Korean 가치없는, 보잘것없는
  • 가치없는 (gachieomneun)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • 보잘것없는 (bojalgeodeomneun)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Latin inūtilis, nēquam
  • inūtilisnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • nēquamnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Lithuanian bevertis
  • bevertisnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Māori hakihakiā, taitāhae
  • hakihakiānot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • taitāhaenot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Norwegian Bokmål verdiløs, verdilaus
  • verdiløsnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • verdilausnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • ubrukelignot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Polish bezwartościowy
  • bezwartościowynot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Portuguese sem valor, inútil
  • sem valornot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • inútilnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Russian ничего́ не сто́я́щий, бесполе́зный
  • ничего́ не сто́я́щий (ničevó ne stójáščij)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • бесполе́зный (bespoléznyj)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • никчёмный (nikčómnyj)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • никуды́шный (nikudýšnyj)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Spanish sin valor, sin ningún valor
  • sin valornot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • sin ningún valornot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • despreciablenot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • no tener valornot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • no tener ningún valornot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • no valer nadanot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • desvaloradonot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • desvalorizadonot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • cativonot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Swedish värdelös
  • värdelösnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Tagalog walang kwenta
  • walang kwentanot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Tamil உதவாக்கரை
  • உதவாக்கரை (utavākkarai)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Turkish değersiz, kıymetsiz
  • değersiznot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • kıymetsiznot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • naçiznot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Vietnamese vô giá trị
  • vô giá trịnot having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Yiddish אָן אַ ווערט, ווערטלאָז
  • אָן אַ ווערט (on a vert)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
  • ווערטלאָז (vertloz)not having worth and use; without value — see also inconsequential, useless
Cite this entry
APA

worthless. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/worthless

MLA

“worthless.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/worthless. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “worthless,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/worthless.

Source: worthless on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.