useful

adjective

ˈyüs-fəl How to pronounce useful (audio)
Definition of usefulnext
1
as in applicable
capable of being put to use or account useful suggestions for limiting the amount of food we eat

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in available
capable of or suitable for being used for a particular purpose I've found this tool really useful for making sure all my pictures are hung straight

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in helpful
providing service or assistance hopefully, the consultant's financial advice will prove useful in planning for our retirement

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of useful The Army’s goal is to speed up microreactors into becoming commercially successful and, therefore, more economic and useful to the military. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 25 Oct. 2026 Make room for rest When your mind is constantly processing information, a break can be more useful than pushing yourself to keep going. — Kriti Kumar, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2026 Google's implementation of its Gemini AI suite in Googlebooks is thorough, intuitive, and useful. — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026 But the technology is also useful for national security, and those applications don’t require the same level of power-generating fusion success that the electrical grid does. — Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for useful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for useful
  1. applicable
  2. available
  3. helpful
  4. practical
  5. functional
  6. beneficial
  7. applied
  8. operable
Adjective
  • Florida law imposes limits on direct contributions to state candidates but generally allows political committees to accept unlimited contributions, subject to applicable reporting and other legal requirements.
    — Luisa Yanez, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The vaccine may also usher in a new wave of treatments for other types of cancer, though experts are debating how broadly applicable the technology could be.
    — Ed Silverman, STAT, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of applicable
Adjective
  • The system can also help the Army pair missiles with the best available radar, even when that sensor sits outside conventional communication angles.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Reps could not provide information on how much stock is available and for how long.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of available
Adjective
  • That’s not super helpful if your web application has been written using PHP.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026
  • In order to be helpful, Muse constantly builds extensive dossiers of users and their desires, social relationships, and messaging behaviors, TIME’s Harry Booth reported this month.
    — Andrew R. Chow, Time, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of helpful
Adjective
  • So the theoretical maximum is 256 ESSMs rather than 64 missiles, although a practical loadout would probably mix missile types.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Join Fortune‘s Sam Birchall and a group of CFOs on Wednesday 28th October to discuss practical perspectives on strengthening capability, continuity, and long-term resilience in finance.
    — Sam Birchall, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of practical
Adjective
  • Further research will be needed to determine how the motor behaves under different operating conditions and whether the principle can be incorporated into functional molecular technologies.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The pass rush has been functional, registering 22 sacks, good for top eight in the country.
    — Noah White, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of functional
Adjective
  • More broadly, the decoupling could be beneficial for the Nasdaq-100, with Apple potentially serving as a safety trade amid growing AI volatility.
    — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
  • And the controversy, the Collins insider says, may turn out to be perversely beneficial.
    — Chris Smith, Vanity Fair, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of beneficial
Adjective
  • Honorable rebels take a stand, work, and sacrifice, even against self-interest to bravely bring about something other than the chaos that naturally exists without applied effort to create something good.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • These measurements are then used by the motion-control system to adjust the arm’s position and applied forces.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of applied
Adjective
  • County Judge Tim O'Hare said the change exceeds the statutory minimum for voting centers, and said that some locations were changed due to buildings no longer being operable and ADA requirements.
    — CBS Texas Staff, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Crucially, however, there's an egress window in here, so it can also be used as a guest sleeping area (operable windows are required for tiny house loft bedrooms in most areas).
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of operable

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used up
useful
usefulness
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Cite this Entry

“Useful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/useful. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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