as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
inefficient measures to solve the problem of teenage smoking
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Recent Examples of inefficient
Early creative projects almost always look inefficient.
—
Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds while helping keep two-time All-Star Alperen Sengun to 19 points on inefficient six-for-19 shooting.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Aaron Gordon was predictably formidable as the primary matchup on Julius Randle, who never established a groove while scoring an inefficient 16 points.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Not the frustrated or inefficient Paolo; not the Paolo searching for answers, but Paolo the star.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inefficient
Seth Yudof, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2026
LeBron James had 19 points and 13 assists, and Ayton had 19 points and 11 rebounds while helping keep two-time All-Star Alperen Sengun to 19 points on inefficient six-for-19 shooting.
—Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Aaron Gordon was predictably formidable as the primary matchup on Julius Randle, who never established a groove while scoring an inefficient 16 points.
—Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2026
Not the frustrated or inefficient Paolo; not the Paolo searching for answers, but Paolo the star.
—Mike Bianchi, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inefficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inefficient
Adjective
-
Efforts by Knight's attorneys to appeal the case have so far been unsuccessful.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Harry launched an unsuccessful bid for City Council in 2010.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The official scorer at Citi Field decided to give the win to Williams instead of Brazobán, deeming the latter’s outing ineffective because of the tying grand slam.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
24 Apr. 2026
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And indeed recent reports suggest that some employees are sabotaging their companies’ AI rollouts by misusing AI tools, generating poor work to make AI appear ineffective, or outright refusing to employ the technology.—
Claire Zillman,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Western dominance over cross-border media flows and the increasing concentration of ownership of national and international media by a limited number of Western conglomerates were identified as counterproductive to such ideals.—
Stijn Joye,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
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The departure of Matt Roy was hedged somewhat by the signing of Joel Edmundson two summers ago, but replacing Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence with Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci while Drew Doughty, 36 and in his 18th season, grays and frays has proven highly counterproductive.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
18 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inefficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inefficient. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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