different between useless vs harmful

English

Etymology

From use +? -less.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?ju?s.l?s/

Adjective

useless (comparative more useless or uselesser, superlative most useless or uselessest)

1. Without use or possibility to be used.

2. Unhelpful, not useful; pointless (of an action).

3. (derogatory, of a person) Good-for-nothing; not dependable.

4. (colloquial, of a person) Unable to do well at a particular task or thing. Useless is mildly insulting.

Synonyms

• (good-for-nothing): good-for-nothing
• (unable to do well): unskillful

Antonyms

• skillful, useful

Derived terms

• uselessly
• uselessness

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• harmfull (archaic)

Etymology

From Middle English harmful, from Old English *hearmful (suggested by hearmfull?? (“harmful; hurtful”)), equivalent to harm +? -ful.

Cognate with German harmvoll, Danish harmfuld, Swedish harmfull.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?h??mfl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?h??mfl?/

Adjective

harmful (comparative harmfuller or more harmful, superlative harmfullest or most harmful)

1. of a kind likely to be damaging; injurious

   Wear a hat to protect your skin from harmful sunlight.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "harmful" is often applied: effect, consequence, impact, influence, emission, chemical, ingredient, substance, gas, agent, additive, drug, radiation, dust, organism, plant, animal, insect, action, act, behavior, component, content, activity, interference, use.

Synonyms

• injurious; see also Thesaurus:harmful

Antonyms

• beneficial
• harmless

Translations

See also

• harm