as in futile
producing no results
an unsuccessful attempt to fix the faucet ourselves
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unsuccessful
Efforts to obtain comment from the Battiloro family have been unsuccessful.
—
Eric Shawn, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Efforts by the Herald to contact Hérard’s spokesperson were unsuccessful.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2025
Police tried to get in touch with Rodriguez-Singh again, but were unsuccessful.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2025
But after forcing a late Rosemount punt, Lakeville South ran four unsuccessful plays in the final minute.
—Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Eric Shawn, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Efforts by the Herald to contact Hérard’s spokesperson were unsuccessful.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2025
Police tried to get in touch with Rodriguez-Singh again, but were unsuccessful.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2025
But after forcing a late Rosemount punt, Lakeville South ran four unsuccessful plays in the final minute.
—Mike Cook, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsuccessful
Adjective
-
This advocacy, however, proved futile.—
Time,
Time,
20 Oct. 2025
-
False accusations cannot be rebutted, and any attempt to secure compensation or correction through the courts is futile; no open debate is allowed in the domain of thought and art.—
Jonny Diamond,
Literary Hub,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
But to borrow Manidis’s framework, the drive to create such a tool conflates useless toil with meaningful labor.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
-
The rules of grammar were useless now, and never truly rules.—
Sam Lipsyte,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Even as Nintendo has endlessly mined its classic consoles for nostalgic re-releases in recent decades, the company has seemed to completely ignore the existence of the Virtual Boy—its abortive 1990s dip into the world of early virtual reality.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Our main girl, Diva, is a diva down, forced into abortive encounters with the A.I. that stands, literally, between the goods and services supportive of her everyday life.—
Lauren Michele Jackson,
New Yorker,
23 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unsuccessful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsuccessful. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.
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