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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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
-
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
-
Another recommendation: Attacking Trump’s character, however abhorrent critics may find it, is futile.—
Garry Kasparov,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
-
Regardless, returning him would be futile, said the president’s aides, as his ultimate fate would be imprisonment, in the United States or elsewhere.—
Michael Wilner,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
-
Once the borer has entered the stem, insecticides are useless.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
23 Apr. 2025
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Though small, the defect made the telescope mostly useless to astronomers.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The intraparty wrangling has also hit the Democratic National Committee, where leaders are pressuring Hogg to drop a push to primary some Democratic incumbents deemed ineffective and aging.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
28 Apr. 2025
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The Crown’s offensive diversity — featuring 10 different goal scorers this season — proved ineffective against New England’s tactical discipline.—
Colin Cerniglia,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
“Inefficacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inefficacious. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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