Meaning & use
unhelpful
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Failing to give the assistance, information or support that someone needs, or unwilling to try to do so.
Grammar: Can describe a person or a thing, before a noun or after a verb: an unhelpful clerk, the answer was unhelpful.
Patterns
- unhelpful to someone
- find something unhelpful
- it is unhelpful to do something
The clerk was unhelpful and simply told us to come back tomorrow.
The instructions were so vague that they proved completely unhelpful.
It is unhelpful to blame one person when the whole team made the mistake.
adjectivecomparable
Making a situation worse or harder to deal with, even if that was not the intention.
Grammar: Often describes comments or attitudes, and is a mild way to criticize: an unhelpful remark.
Patterns
- an unhelpful comment
- unhelpful to something
Shouting at the referee was unhelpful and cost the team a penalty.
His unhelpful comments only made her more nervous before the interview.
Constant worry is unhelpful when you are trying to sleep.
Word forms
| comparative | more unhelpful |
|---|---|
| superlative | most unhelpful |
Common combinations
- deeply unhelpful
- The website's error message was deeply unhelpful.
- an unhelpful attitude
- His unhelpful attitude slowed down the whole department.
- unhelpful advice
- Being told to just relax was unhelpful advice.
- unhelpful comment
- She regretted making such an unhelpful comment in the meeting.
- prove unhelpful
- The map proved unhelpful once we left the main road.
Synonyms and how they differ
- useless
- Useless is blunter and stronger, saying something has no value at all, whereas unhelpful can be a milder criticism.
- uncooperative
- Uncooperative is used only for people and suggests a refusal to work with others, while unhelpful can also describe objects and advice.
- counterproductive
- Counterproductive means the action actually works against its goal, which is stronger than simply failing to help.
- obstructive
- Obstructive suggests active blocking, while unhelpful may just mean failing to assist.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: unhelpful or helpless?
unhelpful vs helpless
Helpless means unable to do anything for yourself, while unhelpful means failing to help others.
Practice
The manual was ___, because it explained nothing about the error we kept seeing.
Choose one answer.
Unhelpful means it failed to give the needed assistance. Helpless describes a person who cannot act, not a manual.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unhelpful”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.