as in futile
producing no results
an unsuccessful attempt to fix the faucet ourselves
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Recent Examples of unsuccessful
Whatley easily bested his primary opponents, Navy JAG veteran Don Brown and unsuccessful 2024 state superintendent candidate Michele Morrow.
—
CNN Money, 3 Mar. 2026
Attempts to reach Kerr and Carvalho were unsuccessful.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
The city’s attempt to secure $2 million in planning and pre-design funds from state lawmakers was unsuccessful in 2024.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 3 Mar. 2026
Efforts to reach the former director were unsuccessful on Friday afternoon.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
CNN Money, 3 Mar. 2026
Attempts to reach Kerr and Carvalho were unsuccessful.
—Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2026
The city’s attempt to secure $2 million in planning and pre-design funds from state lawmakers was unsuccessful in 2024.
—Frederick Melo, Twin Cities, 3 Mar. 2026
Efforts to reach the former director were unsuccessful on Friday afternoon.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsuccessful
Adjective
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Saturday’s game featured a feverish but futile effort marked by a rally from 15 down in the first half, 12 ties and 12 lead changes.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
7 Mar. 2026
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Auditor Diana DiZoglio should abandon her futile court case to open the Legislature’s books and instead work on defeating her troika of opponents the old fashioned way – at the ballot box.—
Joe Battenfeld,
Boston Herald,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Generative AI in medicine is neither universally embraced as perfect nor completely dismissed as useless.—
Robert Pearl,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
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Computer nerds who’ve never left their basements and mama’s cooking are trying, and have taken over the sport with useless numbers, or analytics.—
Nick Canepa,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
In October, the Miami Herald reported on abortive negotiations — also involving Qatar — in which Rodríguez proposed leading a transitional government if Maduro agreed to step aside and retire to a prearranged safe haven.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
23 Jan. 2026
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The social media profiles of some Moran personnel also show they were linked to Wagner, which was effectively liquidated after its then boss Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an abortive revolt in Russia in 2023.—
Saskya Vandoorne,
CNN Money,
18 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unsuccessful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsuccessful. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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