Usefulness

ˈjuːsfəlnəs

nounmediumCommonGeneral

Definitions

1

The quality or state of being useful; the capacity to be helpful or beneficial.

ˈjuːsfəlnəs

nounpositivemedium
General

The quality of being useful.

The usefulness of the research findings was clear.

💡 Simply: Usefulness is like when something does its job really well and helps you out. Like, the usefulness of a comfy chair is that it makes sitting and relaxing super easy.

👶 For kids: When something is helpful and does a good job, like a toy that helps you build things, that's its usefulness!

More Examples

2

The teacher emphasized the usefulness of studying hard.

3

The product's usefulness was evaluated in customer surveys.

How It's Used

General

"The usefulness of the new software was immediately apparent."

Technology

"The reviewer praised the usefulness of the phone's features."

From Middle English *useful* + -ness. *Useful* itself derives from the word *use* and the suffix *-ful*, which indicates 'full of'. The '-ness' suffix forms an abstract noun.

The term became increasingly common in the late 18th and 19th centuries, coinciding with the Industrial Revolution's focus on practicality and efficiency.

Memory tip

Think of a tool that's always helpful: its usefulness.

Word Origin

Root: use

usefullnessusefullnesusefulnes

Usage

30%Spoken
70%Written