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be unhelpful

[/bi ʌnˈhelpfəl/]
verb phrase
ser inútil / não ser útil / ser pouco prestável
1. to fail to provide assistance or to provide assistance that is not useful or effective
His comments were unhelpful and made the situation worse.
Seus comentários foram inúteis e pioraram a situação.
2. to deliberately refuse or fail to assist someone
The staff member was unhelpful when I asked for directions.
O funcionário foi pouco prestável quando pedi orientações.
NYC Slang
not doing the job / being a waste
Synonyms
be uselessbe counterproductivebe obstructivefail to assist
Antonyms
be helpfulbe usefulassistaid

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
ser inútil / não ser útil
Common in everyday conversation
Rio de Janeiro
ser chato / não prestar
Informal colloquial usage
São Paulo
ser improdutivo / não ajudar
More formal business context
Portugal
ser imprestável / não ser prestável
Common European Portuguese variant

Related Idioms & Phrases

be more of a hindrance than a help
be a dead weight
not lift a finger
throw a spanner in the works
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