as in unsuccessful
producing no results
an unprofitable effort to find the information
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Recent Examples of unprofitable
With the price as light sweet crude at record high prices, Chevron and other companies are scrambling to drill new wells and reopen old wells once considered unprofitable.
—
John Tamny, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Railways closed many unprofitable lines after they were allowed to do so by the Staggers Rail Act of 1980.
—Ian Savage, The Conversation, 14 Jan. 2026
Unlike private hospitals that can withdraw when services are unprofitable, public safety-net hospitals cannot walk away.
—Nan Rich, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
If the department has a plan to increase services — say, by ensuring at least one hospital in a region is equipped to deliver babies — that would be a different story, but the state would have to have some way of compensating hospitals taking on unprofitable services, Stansbury said.
—Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unprofitable
John Tamny, Forbes.com, 20 Jan. 2026
Railways closed many unprofitable lines after they were allowed to do so by the Staggers Rail Act of 1980.
—Ian Savage, The Conversation, 14 Jan. 2026
Unlike private hospitals that can withdraw when services are unprofitable, public safety-net hospitals cannot walk away.
—Nan Rich, Sun Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
If the department has a plan to increase services — say, by ensuring at least one hospital in a region is equipped to deliver babies — that would be a different story, but the state would have to have some way of compensating hospitals taking on unprofitable services, Stansbury said.
—Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unprofitable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unprofitable
Adjective
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His work there included an unsuccessful effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, which drew congressional scrutiny.—
Dan Sullivan,
Miami Herald,
19 Feb. 2026
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Attempts to reach Coplan and Jones individually were unsuccessful.—
Dan Bernstein,
Sportico.com,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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And after decades of futile wishes, maybe the place is finally ready for a new life — not today, not tomorrow, but in a few feverish years.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
10 Feb. 2026
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The metallic sheets cannot stop the damage Echard seeks to impose on her canvases, much like those tinfoil hats that some use in confused, futile efforts to shield themselves from pernicious invisible forces.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Homeowners and residents are baffled by the attacks upon their beautiful — but otherwise seemingly useless — plants.—
Tribune News Service,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Jan. 2026
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My deep cynicism thinks this was a diabolical plan to herd young people toward expensive, and somewhat useless, college degrees.—
Tim Carter,
Hartford Courant,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unprofitable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unprofitable. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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