1
as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
his efforts to restore the neglected houseplant back to health were belated and sadly inefficacious
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in futile
producing no results
an inefficacious medication for a rare form of tuberculosis
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Recent Examples of inefficacious
Most wore inefficacious cloth masks, too.
—
James Lileks, National Review, 25 Aug. 2022
Day — who grew up watching the spelling bee — came up with the concept of exploring the psyche of a winner with an ultimately inefficacious career in 2015 while at a UCB improv sketch-writing class.
—NBC News, 6 Oct. 2020
James Lileks, National Review, 25 Aug. 2022
Day — who grew up watching the spelling bee — came up with the concept of exploring the psyche of a winner with an ultimately inefficacious career in 2015 while at a UCB improv sketch-writing class.
—NBC News, 6 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inefficacious
Adjective
-
Nash’s cousin Allene Love told the Star-Telegram that family members’ efforts to obtain answers from police have been unsuccessful.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 Mar. 2025
-
At least 24,000 probationary employees have been terminated since President Trump took office, the lawsuit alleges, though efforts by the judge to get an estimate from a government attorney at a hearing Wednesday were unsuccessful.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The data suggests that market timing is not a futile exercise but a skill - one that, like any other, is unevenly distributed and requires both technological sophistication and human insight to exploit effectively.—
Steven Desmyter,
Forbes,
5 Mar. 2025
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Former Vice President Mohammad-Ali Abtahi dismissed negotiations with Trump as futile, arguing that Trump's leadership made diplomacy ineffective.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The Bottlenecks Of Traditional Remediation In non-DevOps environments, fixing even a single vulnerability can be an inefficient, multi-team process.—
Edouard Viot,
Forbes,
18 Mar. 2025
-
Meanwhile, Rozier had another inefficient night, shooting 2 for 9 with five points in 25 minutes off the bench.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Landing on the Moon comes with numerous complications, including an often-uneven surface and the lack of an atmosphere, rendering parachutes useless.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
18 Mar. 2025
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This was quite the useless promo, and much of what Rollins said could have been saved for SmackDown.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Porter was especially hard on himself after his ineffective series in 2024.—
Bennett Durando,
The Denver Post,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Instead, tariff revenues become entangled in bureaucratic structures, subject to administrative inefficiencies, delays, and ineffective allocation.—
Ali Hoss,
Forbes,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
That can often be counterproductive because Albuquerque tends to beat pitchers up.—
Patrick Saunders,
The Denver Post,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Very-low-calorie diets are not recommended and tend to be counterproductive to health goals.—
Heather Jones,
Verywell Health,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inefficacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inefficacious. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
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