as in futile
producing no results
an unavailing effort to avert a war
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unavailing
On Saturday, Durant reaffirmed his stance that the question of his and other superstars’ effort was an unavailing narrative to explore every February.
—
Devon Henderson, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
The position advanced by the states is legally unavailing as a matter of longstanding and well-established law.
—WSJ, 25 July 2018
Efforts to aid him with lifeboats, three of which were ineffectually trying to breast the heavy sea, were unavailing, while a lifeline, held by a number of rescuers, was carried far out into the surf by a number of swimmers.
—sandiegouniontribune.com, 6 May 2018
Devon Henderson, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
The position advanced by the states is legally unavailing as a matter of longstanding and well-established law.
—WSJ, 25 July 2018
Efforts to aid him with lifeboats, three of which were ineffectually trying to breast the heavy sea, were unavailing, while a lifeline, held by a number of rescuers, was carried far out into the surf by a number of swimmers.
—sandiegouniontribune.com, 6 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unavailing
Adjective
-
But this story has a happier, less futile ending.—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
-
To complain about cramps was futile.—
Nami Mun,
The Atlantic,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
Investigators said that an initial PIT maneuver was unsuccessful, but a second one caused the truck to crash into another vehicle and roll over onto its side – an incident that was caught on home surveillance video.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
-
Jeremy Brandon Johnson, 53, of Eveleth, was pronounced dead at the scene after lifesaving measures were unsuccessful.—
Forum News Service,
Twin Cities,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
In other words, Greg had thought insomnia a problem of the rich, the weak, the useless, the indulgent, the lazy.—
Weike Wang,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
-
But those GPUs are useless without the memory chips stacked alongside them, and Samsung’s three fabrication complexes in South Korea are among the most important pieces of the AI industrial boom.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unavailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unavailing. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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