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
Attempts by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to reach the owners were unsuccessful, but West Allis Mayor Dan Devine said Slingshot Bar is going to be an amazing addition to the city.
—
Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Something may work for a little while but then prove to be unsuccessful.
—Jamie Johnson, Verywell Health, 10 Oct. 2025
The president has been targeting Jeffries online with offensive and vulgar memes since the pair first had an unsuccessful sit-down meeting in the Oval Office just before the shutdown.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
In reality, Aniston had privately been trying IVF, which ultimately was unsuccessful.
—Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 10 Oct. 2025
Something may work for a little while but then prove to be unsuccessful.
—Jamie Johnson, Verywell Health, 10 Oct. 2025
The president has been targeting Jeffries online with offensive and vulgar memes since the pair first had an unsuccessful sit-down meeting in the Oval Office just before the shutdown.
—Zachary Schermele, USA Today, 9 Oct. 2025
In reality, Aniston had privately been trying IVF, which ultimately was unsuccessful.
—Lori A Bashian, FOXNews.com, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsuccessful
Adjective
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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
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While some fans defended Jones, arguing that the defense was told to let the Jaguars score to give Patrick Mahomes and the offense more time to respond, banking on less than 30 seconds to tie the game proved futile to the Chiefs, who fell to 2-3 on the season.—
Trevor Squire,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Because social platforms have not trained their detection models on sufficient non-English-language and non-Western data, much of the AI-fakes detection technology is still very shaky, if not useless, in the Global South and across the developing world.—
John Wihbey,
Big Think,
7 Oct. 2025
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House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) suggested on Friday that returning to Washington would be all but useless.—
Zach LaChance,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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 15 Oct. 2025.
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