From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:
useless
adj 1: having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning
usefully; "a kitchen full of useless gadgets"; "she is
useless in an emergency" [ant: useful]
2: not useful; "a curiously unhelpful and useless manual"
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Useless \Use"less\, a.
Having, or being of, no use; unserviceable; producing no good
end; answering no valuable purpose; not advancing the end
proposed; unprofitable; ineffectual; as, a useless garment;
useless pity.
[1913 Webster]
Not to sit idle with so great a gift
Useless, and thence ridiculous. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Fruitless; ineffectual.
Usage: Useless, Fruitless, Ineffectual. We speak of an
attempt, effort, etc., as being useless when there are
in it inherent difficulties which forbid the hope of
success, as fruitless when it fails, not from any such
difficulties, but from some unexpected hindrance
arising to frustrate it; as, the design was rendered
fruitless by the death of its projector. Ineffectual
nearly resembles fruitless, but implies a failure of a
less hopeless character; as, after several ineffectual
efforts, I at last succeeded.
[1913 Webster]
Useless are all words
Till you have writ "performance" with your
swords.
The other is for waiving. --Beau. & Fl.
[1913 Webster]
Waiving all searches into antiquity, in relation
to this controversy, as being either needless or
fruitless. --Waterland.
[1913 Webster]
Even our blessed Savior's preaching, who spake
as never man spake, was ineffectual to many.
--Bp.
Stillingfleet.
[1913 Webster] -- Use"less*ly, adv. --
Use"less*ness, n.
[1913 Webster]