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inútiles

ee-NOO-tee-less/iˈnutiles/

“inútiles” means “useless” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:

useless, pointless

Also: worthless, unnecessary
A bright yellow hammer sitting on a wooden surface. Its head is made of soft, floppy red rubber, rendering it completely useless for hammering.

📝 In Action

Esas herramientas están rotas, son completamente inútiles.

A2

Those tools are broken; they are completely useless.

Todos nuestros esfuerzos fueron inútiles, no pudimos abrir la caja.

B1

All our efforts were pointless; we couldn't open the box.

Compramos unos accesorios inútiles que nunca usamos.

B1

We bought some useless accessories that we never used.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • inservibles (unserviceable)
  • vanos (vain, futile)

Antonyms

  • útiles (useful)
  • necesarios (necessary)

Common Collocations

  • completamente inútiles – completely useless
  • palabras inútiles – useless words

useless people, good-for-nothings

Also: worthless individuals
Nounm/fB1informal
Three cartoonish people dressed in colorful clothes are standing around a massive gray boulder, attempting to push it sideways with ineffective effort.

📝 In Action

El jefe despidió a los inútiles que no hacían su trabajo.

B2

The boss fired the useless people (the good-for-nothings) who weren't doing their job.

No te juntes con esos inútiles, solo te meterán en problemas.

B1

Don't hang out with those good-for-nothings; they'll only get you into trouble.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • vagos (lazy people)
  • incapaces (incompetent people)

Antonyms

Translate to Spanish

Words that translate to "inútiles" in Spanish:

good-for-nothings→worthless individuals→

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: inútiles

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence uses 'inútiles' as a noun referring to people?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
🎵 Rhymes▼
misilesfáciles
📚 Etymology▼

Comes from the Latin word *inutilis*, which is formed by combining the negative prefix *in-* (meaning 'not') and *utilis* (meaning 'useful'). The word has been used in Spanish since the Middle Ages.

First recorded: 13th century

Cognates (Related words)

French: inutileItalian: inutile

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'inútil' (singular) or 'inútiles' (plural) masculine or feminine?

The form 'inútil' or 'inútiles' is used for both masculine and feminine nouns. For example, 'el libro inútil' (masculine) and 'la idea inútil' (feminine) both use the same adjective form.

How do I make the singular word 'inútil' plural?

Since 'inútil' ends in 'l' (a consonant), you add '-es' to make it plural, resulting in 'inútiles'.