1
as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
his efforts to restore the neglected houseplant back to health were belated and sadly inefficacious
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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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Example Sentences
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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
-
Roughly 45 seconds later, Van der Walt tried to add hot air to the envelope and close the rapid deflation valve but was unsuccessful, according to the report.—
Perry Vandell,
AZCentral.com,
25 July 2025
-
Although a request for proposals for a new company to run the facility drew interest from at least two companies, neither ended up completing the process to submit a proposal and efforts to reach out to other companies have so far been unsuccessful, Hyde said.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
25 July 2025
Adjective
-
Go with the flow, but not toward the beach: Trying to swim directly toward the beach when caught in a rip current is futile and exhausting.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
6 July 2025
-
This group saw military responses as futile, as Iran was assumed to have escalation dominance.—
JAMES JEFFREY,
Foreign Affairs,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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More than half of C-suite leaders who responded are also concerned about existing document generation workflows and see their processes as inefficient.—
Julien Villemonteix,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
-
But airdrops are regarded by aid agencies as expensive, inefficient and sometimes dangerous.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
27 July 2025
Adjective
-
Fertilizing before heavy rain is useless at best and harmful at worst.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 July 2025
-
Followers are useless, but engaged customers and a devoted tribe of community members are priceless.—
Solo Ceesay,
Rolling Stone,
28 July 2025
Adjective
-
Opting into a federal voucher program that is costly and ineffective would be irresponsible for our state and our students.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
23 July 2025
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The court ruled that Conley's first trial lawyer was ineffective and failed to prevent her cell phone from being a primary source of evidence, according to Syracuse.com.—
Samantha Stutsman,
People.com,
22 July 2025
Adjective
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But the facts remind us that viewing climate action as a zero-sum game with economic growth is counterproductive on several fronts.—
Henna Hundal,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
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Ashton Eller, vice president of governmental affairs at IMA, wrote that burdensome regulatory actions cost jobs, drive up energy prices and are counterproductive.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
29 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inefficacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inefficacious. Accessed 6 Aug. 2025.
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