Dictionary

usefulness en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Mid-Atlantic, US) audio
• /ˈjuːsfəlnəs/

Etymology

Etymology tree English useful Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English usefulness From useful + -ness.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The quality or degree of being useful.
   • Always kept in the background, and undervalued by Lady Anne, who disliked the spirit of active usefulness which characterized her youngest daughter, this was the first time that Isabella had been loved for herself;... 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 85:
   • It turns out, there’s research that backs up the usefulness of lowering our expectations. Participants in one study had to make decisions that either led to financial gains or losses, all while inside a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. Researchers then duplicated this experiment as an app to crowdsource more data. 2024 May 14, Clay Drinko, “Lower Your Expectations”, in Psychology Today, archived from the original on 18 Dec 2025:
   • Redding’s study asked four psychologists with expertise in anxiety and depressive disorders to rate each self-help book on five criteria: […] and the general usefulness of the book as a self-administered method for changing behavior or psychological change. 2019 May 2, Nina Avramova, “When you should use self-help programs and when to skip them”, in CNN, archived from the original on 13 Jun 2025:
   • The usefulness of his latest reorganisation has been disputed.

Forms

Relateds

beauty

Synonyms

utility

Translations (33)

cmn 用處 /用处 (quality of being useful) · eo utilo (quality of being useful) · gl utilidade (quality of being useful) · fi hyödyllisyys (quality of being useful) · egy Ax-x:W-Y1:Z2 (quality of being useful) · is gagnsemi (quality of being useful) · ka გამოყენებადობა (quality of being useful) · la utilitas (quality of being useful) · fr utilité (quality of being useful) · ang nytnes (quality of being useful) · cs užitečnost (quality of being useful) · nl bruikbaarheid (quality of being useful) · ja 有用性 (quality of being useful) · es utilidad (quality of being useful) · de Nützlichkeit (quality of being useful) · sk užitočnosť (quality of being useful) · el χρησιμότητα (quality of being useful) · hy օգտակարություն (quality of being useful) · pl pożytek (quality of being useful) · pl pożyteczność (quality of being useful) · pt utilidade (quality of being useful) · ca utilitat (quality of being useful) · hi उपयोगिता (quality of being useful) · hi उपयुक्तता (quality of being useful) · ro utilitate (quality of being useful) · ka ვარგისობა (quality of being useful) · pl użyteczność (quality of being useful) · ml പ്രയോജനം (quality of being useful) · pl użytek (quality of being useful) · cmn 效用 (quality of being useful) · ru поле́зность (quality of being useful) · wlc maana (quality of being useful) · eo utileco (quality of being useful)