1
as in harmful
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2
as in impractical
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3
as in impolite
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unhelpful
These consisted of different types of cognitive behavioral therapy, which often involves talking with a therapist to change unhelpful thinking patterns and identify behaviors that affect mood and stress.
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Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 11 Dec. 2025
American tourists still feel to me like a liberation army that got stuck in its pattern of conquering and inventorying and now, almost a century in, has grown cumbersome, bloated, unhelpful.
—Francesco Pacifico, The Dial, 9 Dec. 2025
Robert Pattinson plays her unhelpful husband.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 14 Nov. 2025
Even the happier videos came with a cost, inviting unhelpful comparisons between myself and other moms.
—Lindsay Lowe, Parents, 8 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unhelpful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unhelpful
Adjective
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Some harmful varieties closely resemble edible mushrooms, even to experienced foragers.—
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On each phone, the lock screen image was a photo of a child who died young due to the harmful effects of social media.—
Adjective
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Nothing’s as sobering to an impractical but fun idea as having to foot the bill.—
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By increasing effective gravity, researchers can accelerate years or even decades of structural and geological stress into just a few hours, enabling experiments that would be impractical in the real world.—
Adjective
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For years, pointing out the obvious was considered impolite: America’s biggest, most distortionary transfer of wealth does not flow from elites to the working class.—
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Eating or drinking while walking (or riding the train) is considered impolite.—
Adjective
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Just remember that Joe Biden’s administration had four years to open the files and disclose any possible news unfavorable to the Republicans.—
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While 48% of the respondents who had heard of Talarico viewed him positively and 18% viewed him negatively, 48% of respondents familiar with Crockett had an unfavorable impression compared with the 40% who viewed her positively.—
Adjective
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The first rule of organizing any room is to declutter unused and unusable items.—
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Where wobbles would start to make high magnification binoculars unusable without a tripod, IS makes these magnifications entirely usable with handheld observations.—
Adjective
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From start to finish, the Red Sox deployed a careless, thoughtless, and passive stratagem.—
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To do a lot less foolish, thoughtless, stupid, idiotic things.—
Adjective
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Davis’ injury is the latest — and potentially most damaging — blow in a Mavericks season defined by attrition.—
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After a damaging winter storm of rain, wind, and flooding, staff at Mountain High Resorts in Wrightwood have been working around the clock to prepare for reopening day on Saturday.—
Adjective
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Brown’s statement on Monday was mostly useless corporate-speak.—
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This tiny amount of copper acts as a molecular steering wheel, preventing sugar molecules from shattering into useless carbon dioxide.—
Cite this Entry
“Unhelpful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unhelpful. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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