1
as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
his efforts to restore the neglected houseplant back to health were belated and sadly inefficacious
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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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Example Sentences
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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
-
Neighbors attempted to rescue her but were unsuccessful, the sheriff’s office said.—
Nour Rahal,
Freep.com,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Joe Raedle/Getty Images Loomer was unsuccessful in two separate congressional campaigns in Florida: one in 2020 and another in 2022.—
Nick Mordowanec,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Go with the flow, but not toward the beach: Trying to swim directly toward the beach when caught in a rip current is futile and exhausting.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
6 July 2025
-
This group saw military responses as futile, as Iran was assumed to have escalation dominance.—
JAMES JEFFREY,
Foreign Affairs,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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More than half of C-suite leaders who responded are also concerned about existing document generation workflows and see their processes as inefficient.—
Julien Villemonteix,
Forbes.com,
28 July 2025
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But airdrops are regarded by aid agencies as expensive, inefficient and sometimes dangerous.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
27 July 2025
Adjective
-
Followers are useless, but engaged customers and a devoted tribe of community members are priceless.—
Solo Ceesay,
Rolling Stone,
28 July 2025
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Fertilizing before heavy rain is useless at best and harmful at worst.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 July 2025
Adjective
-
Trump administration officials have argued that development work is ineffective and gives away taxpayer money to corrupt governments.—
Fatma Tanis,
NPR,
31 July 2025
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Furthermore, police officers often lack the training necessary to respond effectively to transnational repression, resulting in inconsistent and ineffective support for transnational repression victims.—
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
Adjective
-
But the facts remind us that viewing climate action as a zero-sum game with economic growth is counterproductive on several fronts.—
Henna Hundal,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
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Ashton Eller, vice president of governmental affairs at IMA, wrote that burdensome regulatory actions cost jobs, drive up energy prices and are counterproductive.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
29 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inefficacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inefficacious. Accessed 10 Aug. 2025.
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