as in futile
producing no results
an unsuccessful attempt to fix the faucet ourselves
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unsuccessful
Attempts to reach the company president, some supervisors and workers at the plant were unsuccessful.
—
David Douglas, NBC news, 27 May 2026
Charter school backers spent nearly $16 million on unsuccessful efforts to boost his campaign.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
There have been unsuccessful attempts for the nation to be recognized as its own Olympic team; athletes compete in the Summer Games either for the Netherlands or independent athletes.
—ABC News, 26 May 2026
Kipp, a Larimer County Democrat, tried to push a new version of her bill in the final days of the legislative session but was unsuccessful.
—Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
David Douglas, NBC news, 27 May 2026
Charter school backers spent nearly $16 million on unsuccessful efforts to boost his campaign.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2026
There have been unsuccessful attempts for the nation to be recognized as its own Olympic team; athletes compete in the Summer Games either for the Netherlands or independent athletes.
—ABC News, 26 May 2026
Kipp, a Larimer County Democrat, tried to push a new version of her bill in the final days of the legislative session but was unsuccessful.
—Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 25 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsuccessful
Adjective
-
Faced with total defeat, the Democrats finally gave up their futile efforts to undermine the public finance system by blocking Blakeman and agreed to recertify him for matching funds.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2026
-
Harden may be one of the most prolific scorers of all time, but his attempts at winning a championship have been futile.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
And being a humanitarian, useless.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
-
The forty-five minutes felt useless; the pre-meeting did not.—
Nell Derick Debevoise Dewey,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
As children, Vi and Jinx lose their parents in an abortive revolution in Zaun, and years later find themselves on opposite sides of an unfolding power struggle between the two city-states.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
22 May 2026
-
The move fizzled and Herbst stayed put, but the abortive removal attempt has lingered like a dark cloud ever since.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
5 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unsuccessful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsuccessful. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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