Unhelpful Meaning
/ʌnˈhɛlpfəl/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot providing help or assistance; not helpful.
Sentence Examples
The employees are rude and unhelpful.
This is very unhelpful.
We will make sure our involvement is never unwanted or unhelpful.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher's confusing instructions were ____, and the students became more lost.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The assistant was very ____ when I asked for some information about the new product, so I had to look online today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English helpful English unhelpful From un- + helpful.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""Did you know, beloved, at the last, in that intolerable heat, in that moment of supreme anguish, that he is unlistening, unhelpful as the stars, that you cried not to him?""
— 1904, William Henry Hudson, Green Mansions, chapter XX:
"The luckier and less disabled ones manned lifts or were posted at the doors of public buildings, a uniformed and bemedalled conciergerie who were more often than not unhelpful, making the most of whatever petty authority they were invested with."
— 2011, Alan Bennett, “Baffled at a Bookcase”, in London Review of Books, XXXIII.15:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The teacher's confusing instructions were ____, and the students became more lost.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The assistant was very ____ when I asked for some information about the new product, so I had to look online today.