Standard Lemma guide

unhelpful

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ʌnˈhɛlpfəl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 N HH EH1 L P F AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not providing help or assistance; not helpful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Even if you are genuinely a victim, having a victim mentality is unhelpful because it is disempowering. ― Ned Kelly, "NFL Players Are Setting A Bad Example By Teaching Black People To Encourage Victimhood", 8th of October 2017

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective

Meaning 2

providing no assistance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: helpful

History

Etymology

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.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 無益 /无益 (wúyì) — not helpful
  • Danish: uhjælpsom — not helpful
  • Finnish: auttamaton — not helpful
  • French: inserviable — not helpful
  • German: unhilfreich — not helpful
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uhjelpsom — not helpful
  • Polish: nieprzydatny — not helpful