as in futile
producing no results
an unsuccessful attempt to fix the faucet ourselves
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Recent Examples of unsuccessful
Lake, a former television broadcaster who ran unsuccessful Republican governor and Senate campaigns in Arizona, had been initially tapped by President Trump to serve as VOA director before taking on the role of senior adviser to USAGM.
—
Margaret Brennan, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2025
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
Kelsey was unsuccessful in his March 2023 attempt to rescind his guilty plea.
—arkansasonline.com, 13 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, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Margaret Brennan, CBS News, 21 Mar. 2025
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
Kelsey was unsuccessful in his March 2023 attempt to rescind his guilty plea.
—arkansasonline.com, 13 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, 13 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsuccessful
Adjective
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However, these attempts are futile, and such baseless rumors will ultimately be consigned to the dustbin of history.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
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Impeachment is seen as a largely futile effort, given the near-zero chance that at least 14 Senate Democrats would join Republicans in convicting and removing any of the judges.—
Sarah Fortinsky,
The Hill,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Encryption serves as a critical line of defense by rendering intercepted data useless to unauthorized parties.—
Srikanth Bellamkonda,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Because of this, even areas that are just open fields between pockets of good whitetail habitat, or a stand of mature timber that’s largely useless at this time, might provide medium- to long-range travel routes.—
Josh Honeycutt,
Outdoor Life,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The picture arrives, of course, at a fallow time for Marvel, after a string of duds and an abortive attempt to introduce a new superhero phase following the climactic, stage-clearing (and absurdly lucrative) battles of Avengers: Endgame.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
23 July 2024
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Less than a year and a half later, Mr. Lukashenko allowed Russia to use his country as a staging ground for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with an abortive thrust south from Belarus toward Kyiv.—
Tomas Dapkus,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unsuccessful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsuccessful. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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