as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
inefficient measures to solve the problem of teenage smoking
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Recent Examples of inefficient
But an increasingly vocal group of industry voices and deregulation advocates have blamed the slow build-out on overly cautious and inefficient regulators.
—
Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
The wait starts inside the terminal with a long slog in the subway corridor below, winding past baggage claim before climbing into ticketing — a slow-moving maze that travelers call confusing and inefficient.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
Energy-efficient chips Standard computer chips are inefficient.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 20 Mar. 2026
Rather than accept this fact, however, central planners have continued to try to force people out of their vehicles, despite their preferences for this form of transportation, and pressure taxpayers to bail out an inefficient system.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inefficient
Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, 24 Mar. 2026
The wait starts inside the terminal with a long slog in the subway corridor below, winding past baggage claim before climbing into ticketing — a slow-moving maze that travelers call confusing and inefficient.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
Energy-efficient chips Standard computer chips are inefficient.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 20 Mar. 2026
Rather than accept this fact, however, central planners have continued to try to force people out of their vehicles, despite their preferences for this form of transportation, and pressure taxpayers to bail out an inefficient system.
—Adam Summers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inefficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inefficient
Adjective
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An attempt to get a comment from Scrooge Sul about the allegations was unsuccessful.—
Jesse Sarles,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
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The man had surgical hardware in his right ankle but attempts to identify him from the serial numbers were unsuccessful, according to the medical examiner’s office.—
Frederick Melo,
Twin Cities,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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When the law that governs CARE Court was being written, many advocacy groups insisted that coercion is ineffective and that modern mental health care favors treating people in the least restrictive settings possible.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
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Their navy has been deemed combat ineffective.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
29 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The leaks also led to major changes at Meta and in the tech industry, which began to weed out research that could be viewed as counterproductive for the companies.—
Jonathan Vanian,
CNBC,
29 Mar. 2026
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These structured habits—doing the same thing in the same place at the same time of day—were more likely to lead to long-term success than attempting to squelch counterproductive impulses in the moment.—
Francine Russo,
Scientific American,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inefficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inefficient. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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