INEFFECTUAL Synonyms: 72 Similar and Opposite Words

ineffectual

adjective

ˌi-nə-ˈfek-chə(-wə)l

Definition of ineffectual

as in unsuccessful

not producing the desired result an ineffectual effort to find the trail again did at least lead them to another stunning view of the canyon

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in futile

producing no results another ineffectual plan to lose weight without dieting or exercising

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 ineffectual Twentieth-century historians tended to paint the senator as an ineffectual hothead, but Tameez maintains that Sumner’s in-your-face style helped shock a complacent nation into action. — Rob Wolfe, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026 The current environment of Democrat versus Republican, us versus them, renders the entire body ineffectual and incapable of independent agency and thought. — Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2026 The processing element tiles operate on compressed matrices, eliminating all unnecessary and ineffectual computation. — Olivia Hsu, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Apr. 2026 Others get more personal, as when Anushka (Meaghan Rath), the ineffectual chief ethicist at a Google-like giant, and her oddball inventor husband, Martin (Simon Helberg), butt heads over her skepticism of his work. — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 10 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ineffectual

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ineffectual

Adjective

The business hired attorneys to appeal the county’s assessment, Cerny said, but were unsuccessful.

— Evgenia Anastasakos, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Alonso may have had an unsuccessful spell managing Real Madrid, but went unbeaten to win the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen in his second season of senior management.

— Art de Roché, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of unsuccessful

Adjective

Requests for records from Princeton City Schools, Northwest Local Schools and Mason City Schools also largely proved futile.

— Grace Tucker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 30 Aug. 2026
In sick bay, M’Benga tries to remove the table and end his life so Chapel can give up on him, an effort that proves futile.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of futile

Adjective

As a business expands, growth has a way of exposing things like inefficient workflows and inconsistent processes that were once manageable, but on a smaller scale.

— Farzana Abdulhusein, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Another common argument is that single-payer systems are inherently inefficient, as evidenced ostensibly by long waits for treatment suffered by patients in single-payer countries such as Canada.

— Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of inefficient

Adjective

David Shnaiderov, who directs the Nuclear Quantum division at Quantum X Labs, pointed out that simulating particle transport is useless without a practical way to represent real physical shapes.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
However, this doesn’t mean the devices are completely useless.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 2 Sep. 2026