to no avail

idiom

: without success
They tried to discuss the issue calmly, but to no avail.

Examples of to no avail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web After prosecutors presented their case on Monday and Tuesday, Acosta took the witness stand in Miami federal court to defend herself, to no avail. Jay Weaver, Miami Herald, 5 June 2024 During 2022 and 2023, separate peace initiatives were announced by China, the Vatican and a group of African countries, but also to no avail. Fox News, 3 June 2024 The pilot ordered the crew to drop an anchor and issued steering commands to no avail. Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun, 2 Apr. 2024 Streep tried to comfort her by putting her hand on her shoulder, but to no avail. Carita Rizzo, Peoplemag, 25 May 2024 Most had already shelled out money to unscrupulous police officers, to no avail. Matthieu Aikins Bryan Denton, New York Times, 22 May 2024 The couple eventually broke up in 2020 after trying counseling to mend the relationship to no avail. Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 22 May 2024 In Game 5 on Tuesday, Florida challenged Charlie McAvoy’s go-ahead goal against Sergei Bobrovsky in the second period for goaltender interference to no avail. Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 15 May 2024 Bewildered by his mother's bizarre insistence on staying at the store, David (McGregor) enlists his siblings to speak with their mother and convince her to leave to no avail. Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 10 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'to no avail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near to no avail

Cite this Entry

“To no avail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/to%20no%20avail. Accessed 12 Jun. 2024.

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