1
as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
an ineffective effort to reduce unemployment that only spurred inflation
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in futile
producing no results
an ineffective medication that will be denied FDA approval
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ineffective
That doesn’t mean a treatment is ineffective for younger patients, said Marupudi, who is not Cambrie’s doctor but has treated epilepsy in children using deep brain stimulation.
—
Marina Kopf, NBC news, 27 May 2026
Paxton also focused on his conservative record as attorney general and cast Cornyn as an ineffective member of the Washington establishment who’s been in office for too long.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 May 2026
Mechanized weapons and equipment have broken down to a striking degree; military units have proven demonstrably poorly disciplined and ineffective.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
Tomorrow’s miracle cures will be the product of many small gains that may have seemed insignificant — or even cost-ineffective — at the time.
—Sally C. Pipes, Boston Herald, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for ineffective
Marina Kopf, NBC news, 27 May 2026
Paxton also focused on his conservative record as attorney general and cast Cornyn as an ineffective member of the Washington establishment who’s been in office for too long.
—Eleanor Dearman, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 May 2026
Mechanized weapons and equipment have broken down to a striking degree; military units have proven demonstrably poorly disciplined and ineffective.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 27 May 2026
Tomorrow’s miracle cures will be the product of many small gains that may have seemed insignificant — or even cost-ineffective — at the time.
—Sally C. Pipes, Boston Herald, 27 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for ineffective
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ineffective
Adjective
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Japanese police trudged through deep mud on Thursday in another unsuccessful day searching for a missing Auburn University student, who vanished after an argument with family over artificial intelligence.—
David K. Li,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
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Efforts to reach Bronstein for comment on Stone’s claims were unsuccessful Thursday.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
4 June 2026
Adjective
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Faced with total defeat, the Democrats finally gave up their futile efforts to undermine the public finance system by blocking Blakeman and agreed to recertify him for matching funds.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 May 2026
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Harden may be one of the most prolific scorers of all time, but his attempts at winning a championship have been futile.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
26 May 2026
Adjective
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Gilgeous-Alexander partly compensated for inefficient shooting performances by leaning on his supporting cast.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
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Those accomplishments help explain why many analysts view her turnovers as a byproduct of her extraordinary workload rather than evidence of inefficient play.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
Adjective
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And being a humanitarian, useless.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
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The forty-five minutes felt useless; the pre-meeting did not.—
Nell Derick Debevoise Dewey,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Adjective
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Beyond becoming the office scapegoat, AI employees were actually counterproductive in many companies’ mission to increase AI adoption in the workplace.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
28 May 2026
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Perhaps folks view Laesch’s behavior as obnoxious or counterproductive or simply not in his lane.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ineffective.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ineffective. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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