1
as in harmful
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in impractical
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in impolite
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples 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 unhelpful
There’s a thin line between being helpful and being unhelpful.
—
Becket Adams, National Review, 5 Jan. 2025
Distancing may also protect your emotional well-being in relationships that feel unsalvageable or even harmful to be in, but can be unhelpful in conflicts that could deeply benefit from even a single, albeit uncomfortable, conversation.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
That's where, for me, all my insecurities come from, is my head telling me messages about myself, which may not be true or just unhelpful.
—Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 29 Nov. 2024
Still, these narratives are unhelpful at best and potentially dangerous at worst.
—Ella Cerón, Allure, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unhelpful 
Becket Adams, National Review, 5 Jan. 2025
Distancing may also protect your emotional well-being in relationships that feel unsalvageable or even harmful to be in, but can be unhelpful in conflicts that could deeply benefit from even a single, albeit uncomfortable, conversation.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
That's where, for me, all my insecurities come from, is my head telling me messages about myself, which may not be true or just unhelpful.
—Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 29 Nov. 2024
Still, these narratives are unhelpful at best and potentially dangerous at worst.
—Ella Cerón, Allure, 6 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unhelpful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhelpful
Adjective
-
In an October 2022 article in the Montreal Gazette, Bryn Austin, a professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, highlighted how BMI can lead to harmful outcomes.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
19 Jan. 2025
-
Market intervention is always and everywhere harmful simply because markets are people.—
John Tamny,
Forbes,
19 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
For instance, unused network segments can be powered down temporarily to save energy, a task that would be impractical to manage manually across thousands of network sites.—
Robert Backhouse,
Forbes,
8 Jan. 2025
-
Experts dismiss an analogous design for the U.S. as impractical—Israel's defenses are vastly different to the U.S. for several reasons, not least the size of the country and who is doing the targeting.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
4 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
One of the myths Dunlap tackles in her book is that talking about money is impolite.—
Katy McFee,
Forbes,
12 Dec. 2024
-
The typical solution is to berate co-workers for misusing the channel, which is impolite, hurts everyone’s feelings and does not work.—
Judith Martin,
The Mercury News,
5 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Governments, meanwhile, may use their powers over information to suppress unfavorable narratives: laws originally aimed at misinformation, many enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, can hinder free expression.—
Fergus McIntosh,
The New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2025
-
Leading books have grappled with unfavorable sports outcomes in recent quarters.—
Matt Rybaltowski,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The insurance typically covers personal belongings and a unit’s interior and provides benefits such as living expenses if a condo becomes unusable.—
Laurence Darmiento,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Jan. 2025
-
Instead, the law would penalize internet providers and companies with App stores like Apple and Google for continuing to make updates available, The New York Times reported, so the app would degrade over time and become unusable.—
Mary Whitfill Roeloffs,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Perhaps a bored retiree at home one New Year’s Eve will spot thoughtless kids shooting off fireworks one year.—
Penny Abeywardena,
Forbes,
15 Jan. 2025
-
The hearing swung from thoughtless to scandalous when one representative suggested that the murderous hawk was a better mascot for Planned Parenthood than for New Hampshire.—
Casey Cep,
The New Yorker,
28 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Mother Nature exploded in Los Angeles this month with the most damaging wildfires in the city’s, and likely the nation’s, history.—
Carmen Balber,
Rolling Stone,
17 Jan. 2025
-
The deficit hawks said the package must be paid for by other changes to the budget — a stipulation that infuriated Republicans from New York and New Jersey, where the storm was most damaging, and triggered an internal fight within the GOP that benefited Democrats politically.—
Mike Lillis,
The Hill,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Without that essential training to help surmount powerful systemic barriers, the kit would have been useless—and in that sense, the job is still woefully unfinished.—
Sheila McClear,
The Atlantic,
16 Jan. 2025
-
Esoteric knowledge of the parks, essentially useless anywhere else, is suddenly incredibly useful.—
Darryn King,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near unhelpful
Cite this Entry
“Unhelpful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhelpful. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share