| Library / English Dictionary |
USEFUL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having a useful function
Example:
utilitarian steel tables
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
functional (designed for or capable of a particular function or use)
Derivation:
usefulness (the quality of being of practical use)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Being of use or service
Example:
a useful member of society
Synonyms:
useful; utile
Classified under:
Similar:
handy (useful and convenient)
multipurpose (having multiple uses)
reclaimable; recyclable; reusable (capable of being used again)
serviceable (capable of being put to good use)
usable; useable (capable of being put to use)
utilitarian (having utility often to the exclusion of values)
utilizable (capable of being put to a profitable or practical use)
Also:
effective; effectual; efficacious (producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect)
expedient (serving to promote your interest)
helpful (providing assistance or serving a useful function)
profitable (yielding material gain or profit)
serviceable (ready for service or able to give long service)
Attribute:
usefulness; utility (the quality of being of practical use)
Antonym:
useless (having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully)
Context examples:
One type of therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, is useful for treating OCD.
(Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, NIH: National Institute of Mental Health)
Measuring the amount of CA 15-3 in the blood may be useful in checking how well cancer treatment is working or if cancer has come back.
(CA 15-3, NCI Dictionary)
A targeted protein screen revealed 34 potentially useful biomarkers.
(Biomarker Signatures of Prostate Cancer, NIH)
This may be useful in determining the tumor cell response to a particular EGFR kinase inhibitor in individual patients.
(Carbon C 11 Erlotinib Hydrochloride, NCI Thesaurus)
The antibody is useful in the detection of adenocarcinomas, mesotheliomas, and certain squamous epithelia-derived carcinomas.
(Cytokeratin-8 Staining Method, NCI Thesaurus)
I thought of the fifty guineas, and of how very useful they would be to me.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
“It is an art which is often useful,” said he.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This complex is useful because of the ability to deliver drugs in a controlled fashion to a specific site of interest.
(Nanoparticle-targeted Drug, NCI Thesaurus)
MRI is especially useful for imaging the brain, the spine, the soft tissue of joints, and the inside of bones.
(MRI, NCI Dictionary)
Who was so useful to him, who so ready to write his letters, who so glad to assist him?
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
