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
The free-throw attempt was unsuccessful, and the Gamecocks’ Austin Herro grabbed the rebound, but Aidan Shaw stole the ball and drove to the basket for a dunk.
—
Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2025
If negotiations with the county are unsuccessful Monday, Ramsey County probation officers and Teamsters Local 320, the union representing more than 200 probation officers in the county, plan to strike, according to union officials.
—Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 25 Feb. 2025
The Trump administration should consider gradually removing the U.S. military trainers who have been working on Taiwan’s outlying islands since at least 2020; similar missions have been largely unsuccessful at teaching partners to become self-sufficient.
—Jennifer Kavanagh, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Emergency responders tried life-saving efforts but were unsuccessful.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Maddie Hartley, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2025
If negotiations with the county are unsuccessful Monday, Ramsey County probation officers and Teamsters Local 320, the union representing more than 200 probation officers in the county, plan to strike, according to union officials.
—Imani Cruzen, Twin Cities, 25 Feb. 2025
The Trump administration should consider gradually removing the U.S. military trainers who have been working on Taiwan’s outlying islands since at least 2020; similar missions have been largely unsuccessful at teaching partners to become self-sufficient.
—Jennifer Kavanagh, Foreign Affairs, 25 Feb. 2025
Emergency responders tried life-saving efforts but were unsuccessful.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsuccessful
Adjective
-
For Alok Bansal, a newspaper columnist, the exercise is futile – and threatens to deepen divisions.—
Sushmita Pathak,
The Christian Science Monitor,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Challenging the law again was futile until 2023 when progressives retook a 4–3 majority on the court.—
The Editors,
National Review,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Those assets are useless on a device like the Deck, and take up unnecessary space.—
Jason Evangelho,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
-
In stereotypical rich-TV-family fashion, the ultimate symbol of Baba’s success is that both of his sons are sort of useless.—
Angie Han,
The Hollywood Reporter,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
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
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Yet Texas law forbids its state maternal mortality review committee from looking into the deaths of patients who received an abortive procedure or medication, even in cases of miscarriage.—
Ziva Branstetter,
ProPublica,
17 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unsuccessful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsuccessful. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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