as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
a well-intentioned but feckless response to the rise in school violence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of feckless
Many of these new candidates will be ordinary citizens who are fed up with the feckless and do-nothing politics of the Democratic establishment.
—
Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
The Little Maria controversy did no favors for human-rights activists, either, whom the government liked to paint as feckless—or even as smugglers masquerading as do-gooders.
—Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Other governments won’t let the White House reduce them to feckless subordinates.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 14 Feb. 2025
Meantime, a Congress paralyzed by mutual loathing, divided between feckless Republicans and clueless Democrats, looks on.
—Clive Crook, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feckless
Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
The Little Maria controversy did no favors for human-rights activists, either, whom the government liked to paint as feckless—or even as smugglers masquerading as do-gooders.
—Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
Other governments won’t let the White House reduce them to feckless subordinates.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 14 Feb. 2025
Meantime, a Congress paralyzed by mutual loathing, divided between feckless Republicans and clueless Democrats, looks on.
—Clive Crook, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feckless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feckless
Adjective
-
But the Supreme Court denied the court order and requests to President Donald Trump from family, supporters and her attorney were unsuccessful.—
Nicole Acosta,
People.com,
19 Apr. 2025
-
Meanwhile, Min and Chris’ closest friends, Kelly Marie Tran’s Angela, a research scientist, and Lily Gladstone’s Lee, an Indigenous community organizer, have been struggling to conceive a child; Lee has just found out that her second round of IVF has been unsuccessful.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
More importantly, Brunson is coming off a 34-point night in Game 1 despite a rare inefficient shooting night.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Hardware orders in late March reached new records, indicating operators are swapping out inefficient rigs rather than capitulating.—
Dave Birnbaum,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Macías was believed by Spain to be so weak and ineffectual that future economic benefits for Spain, even after independence, would be axiomatic.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
18 Apr. 2025
-
In Kenya, 77% of people view their government’s efforts in fighting corruption as ineffectual.—
Richard Aidoo,
The Conversation,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Some constitutional scholars still maintain that hair-on-fire rhetoric about the demise of the republic is counterproductive.—
Andrew Marantz,
New Yorker,
28 Apr. 2025
-
Peter Ricci, director of the hospitality and tourism management program at Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business, predicted the measure, if passed would be counterproductive.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Feckless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feckless. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share