barely useful

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "barely useful" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe something that has minimal utility or effectiveness. Example: "The new software update is barely useful, as it doesn't fix the major bugs we were experiencing."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

6 human-written examples

However, critics contend that the "society of mind" idea is most accessible to laypeople and barely useful to AI researchers.

Encyclopedia Britannica

A fellow Theta Delt from Stanford owned an apartment in Beirut, so, armed with his barely useful classical Arabic (he is fluent in Swahili and conversant in Maa), Cohen went to Lebanon next.

The New Yorker

34 days ago I carved FriendFeed a well-deserved new one as Twitter showed signs of leveling off at barely useful.

TechCrunch

Information has become a form of garbage, not only incapable of answering the most fundamental human questions but barely useful in providing coherent direction to the solution of even mundane problems.

TechCrunch

True, there's a free mini bar with some Cokes and a couple of beers and a "kitchen" with a sink and microwave, but it's barely useful.

Huffington Post

The cost is so high as to make it barely useful.

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

54 human-written examples

Also from the overpriced, barely-useful department: a $75 device for finding wireless networks, apparently because it's too much of a hassle to take out your laptop.What really takes the useless-gadgetry cake is "a clear film covering that completely wraps around digital devices, protecting them from scratches and blemishes without adding bulk or changing the look and feel".

The Economist

I wasn't sure why, exactly, because I have so many useful indoor rooms that we barely use.

The New York Times

I barely used it.

TechCrunch

From a consultant perspective, the first of what now has become cloud services was barely but strategically useful.

TechCrunch

Anther culturing, therefore, has been used as an efficient method to improve agronomically important crops such as rice and barely by producing useful cultivars (Barchi et al. 2010; Kasha and Kao 1970; Kozik et al. 2002; Zagorska et al. 2004).

Rice

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "barely useful", consider whether a more precise adjective would better convey the degree of limited utility. For example, specify why something is "barely useful" or what makes it so.

Common error

Avoid using "barely useful" when something is completely useless. "Barely useful" implies some minimal level of functionality or benefit, however small. If there's no practical value, use "useless" or "worthless" instead.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "barely useful" functions as an adjective phrase that modifies a noun, indicating a limited degree of utility or effectiveness. As Ludwig AI confirms, the expression is grammatically sound and acceptable in English.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

50%

Science

33%

Encyclopedias

17%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Social Media

0%

Academia

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "barely useful" is a grammatically correct adjective phrase used to describe something of limited utility. As indicated by Ludwig AI, it's an acceptable and usable phrase in written English. It appears most frequently in News & Media and Science contexts. While "barely useful" suggests some minimal benefit, it's important to distinguish it from being "completely useless". Related phrases, like ""hardly useful"" or ""marginally useful"", offer similar but slightly nuanced meanings. When writing, ensure that "barely useful" accurately reflects the degree of limited functionality and is not used when something is entirely without value.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

hardly useful

Similar in meaning but may suggest a slightly stronger degree of inadequacy.

scarcely useful

Emphasizes the rarity or infrequency of usefulness.

marginally useful

Highlights the minimal extent of usefulness.

minimally effective

Focuses on the limited degree of effectiveness.

of limited use

A more formal way of expressing that something is not very useful.

somewhat ineffective

Indicates that something has some effect, but not much.

not very helpful

A straightforward way of saying that something doesn't provide much assistance.

almost useless

Emphasizes the proximity to being entirely without value.

slightly beneficial

Suggests a small degree of positive impact.

of little practical value

Highlights the lack of real-world application or benefit.

FAQs

How can I use "barely useful" in a sentence?

You can use "barely useful" to describe something that provides minimal benefit or assistance. For example: "The old map was "barely useful" for navigating the forest."

What's a synonym for "barely useful"?

Synonyms for "barely useful" include "hardly useful", "scarcely useful", or "marginally useful". These phrases all convey the idea that something has very limited utility.

Is it correct to say "something is barely useful"?

Yes, it is grammatically correct to say "something is barely useful". It means that something is only slightly or marginally helpful.

What is the difference between "barely useful" and "completely useless"?

"Barely useful" implies that something has some minimal level of utility, while "completely useless" means that something has no utility whatsoever. The first is not as useless as the second.