Worthless describes something that has no value, use, or importance. A crumpled piece of scrap paper covered in doodles might be worthless, while the same paper with your homework on it has real value. A counterfeit hundred-dollar bill looks impressive but is actually worthless because stores won't accept it and banks won't exchange it for real money.

The word often describes things that seemed valuable but turned out not to be. An old baseball card collection might be worthless if the cards are damaged or from players nobody remembers. A “magic potion” sold by a con artist is worthless because it doesn't actually do what it promises.

People sometimes use worthless harshly when they're frustrated. A student struggling with a difficult assignment might angrily call their eraser worthless after it smudges the paper, even though the eraser works fine on regular mistakes. When something repeatedly fails to do its job, though, calling it worthless makes sense: a flashlight with dead batteries that won't turn on really is worthless until you replace the batteries.

Be careful with this word around people. An object can be worthless, but a person never is. Every human being has inherent worth and dignity, regardless of circumstances or achievements.