unhelpfuladj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈhɛlpf(ᵿ)l/, U.S. /ˌənˈhɛlpfəl/ 1. Unable to help; not rendering help.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [adjective] > not
unhelply1408
helpless1593
unhelping1604
unserviceable1614
unhelpfula1616
unassisting1694
unaiding1716
unassistant1796
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) iii. i. 218 Euen so my selfe bewayles good Glosters case With sad vnhelpefull teares, and with dimn'd eyes.
1644 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce (ed. 2) 67 A blamelesse creature,..to whose ease you cannot adde the tithe of one small atome, but by letting alone your unhelpfull Surgery.
1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain i. xvii Standing unhelpful, when the others were busy bringing in the benches.
1880 A. C. Swinburne Study of Shakespeare 62 As yet the one contemporary book..remains..inaccessible and unhelpful to students.
2. Helpless, shiftless. Also absol.
ΚΠ
1855 I. Taylor Restor. Belief (1856) 290 The luckless, the unhelpful, the feeble,..receive such help as their several cases call for.
Derivatives
unˈhelpfully adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [adverb] > not
unhelpfully1971
the mind > will > wish or inclination > unwillingness > [adverb] > unwilling to help
unhelpfully1971
1971 Daily Tel. 21 Apr. 12/3 The situations are promising, but the play becomes unhelpfully confusing.
unˈhelpfulness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [noun] > quality of being helpful > not
unhelpfulness1626
1626 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. VIII. O.T. xxi. 497 To take vengeance..for this cold vnhelpfulnesse to his distressed Church.
1889 in Cent. Dict.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1924; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.a1616