1
as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
his efforts to restore the neglected houseplant back to health were belated and sadly inefficacious
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in futile
producing no results
an inefficacious medication for a rare form of tuberculosis
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Recent Examples of inefficacious
Most wore inefficacious cloth masks, too.
—
James Lileks, National Review, 25 Aug. 2022
Day — who grew up watching the spelling bee — came up with the concept of exploring the psyche of a winner with an ultimately inefficacious career in 2015 while at a UCB improv sketch-writing class.
—NBC News, 6 Oct. 2020
James Lileks, National Review, 25 Aug. 2022
Day — who grew up watching the spelling bee — came up with the concept of exploring the psyche of a winner with an ultimately inefficacious career in 2015 while at a UCB improv sketch-writing class.
—NBC News, 6 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inefficacious
Adjective
-
Barkan’s was one of several unsuccessful progressive campaigns Mamdani worked on before getting a job as a foreclosure prevention counselor at a nonprofit.—
Ben Adler,
USA Today,
2 Nov. 2025
-
There have been a handful of topping bids this year, including an unsuccessful attempt by hedge fund Alden Global to beat out Hearst in its deal for the Dallas Morning News.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Meanwhile, over on the blanket, Hine and Lemmon begin a rather futile attempt to teach the rest of us backgammon.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Understanding each other is futile.—
Jake Coyle,
Boston Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
For years, the Heat’s offense was among the slowest and most inefficient units in the NBA.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
2 Nov. 2025
-
In an interview, Hirschhorn said export controls alone were an inefficient way to defend human rights.—
Byron Tau,
Fortune,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Sarah has a useless husband and a useless job.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Lavin bought hard copies of the AI knockoffs of her book, and wasn’t surprised to find that each was useless in its own way.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Welcome’s report sees that remedy as ineffective, and the collapse in split-ticket voting in recent elections suggests the group may be right.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
The ground game was completely ineffective in wins over the Bills and Saints in Weeks 5 and 6.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Even Bill Gates, a onetime stalwart champion of climate action, said this week that near-term emissions targets are a distraction at best and could even be counterproductive for human welfare.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
30 Oct. 2025
-
What resulted is one of the most comic, counterproductive, and clumsy episodes in the long history of British efforts to deal with Ireland.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inefficacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inefficacious. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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