as in futile
producing no results
an unavailing effort to avert a war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unavailing
On Saturday, Durant reaffirmed his stance that the question of his and other superstars’ effort was an unavailing narrative to explore every February.
—
Devon Henderson, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
The position advanced by the states is legally unavailing as a matter of longstanding and well-established law.
—WSJ, 25 July 2018
Efforts to aid him with lifeboats, three of which were ineffectually trying to breast the heavy sea, were unavailing, while a lifeline, held by a number of rescuers, was carried far out into the surf by a number of swimmers.
—sandiegouniontribune.com, 6 May 2018
Devon Henderson, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2026
The position advanced by the states is legally unavailing as a matter of longstanding and well-established law.
—WSJ, 25 July 2018
Efforts to aid him with lifeboats, three of which were ineffectually trying to breast the heavy sea, were unavailing, while a lifeline, held by a number of rescuers, was carried far out into the surf by a number of swimmers.
—sandiegouniontribune.com, 6 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unavailing
Adjective
-
Instigated by the dictatorship invading territories long ago ceded to the English, the war was the new government’s futile attempt to restore a nationalist fantasy of Argentina’s borders (and distract from the country’s collapsing economy).—
Daniel R. Quiles,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
-
These findings don’t mean weight loss is futile; even short-term weight loss correlates with improvements in metabolic health.—
Lori Youmshajekian,
Scientific American,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The handful of lawsuits filed by donor-advisors over how DAF assets are spent or invested have thus far been largely unsuccessful in court.—
Hayley Cuccinello,
CNBC,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Police attempted to forcibly stop the vehicle using spike strips but were unsuccessful.—
Timia Cobb
Breaking News Reporter,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The big risk for Perplexity, however, is if the models themselves become commodities, rendering useless a service that allows users to switch between the AIs for tasks.—
Rachyl Jones,
semafor.com,
25 Feb. 2026
-
But other people—a lot of other people—will become useless.—
Sam Kriss,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unavailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unavailing. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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