as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
inefficient measures to solve the problem of teenage smoking
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Recent Examples of inefficient
The Heat’s offense, as a whole, has been inefficient recently after a hot start to the season.
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Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 20 Dec. 2025
Earlier this year, Hegseth sent a memo to senior Pentagon leadership asking for the Army to restructure its acquisition systems and close redundant and inefficient programs.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 18 Dec. 2025
At the sprawling campus, Blue Diamond’s longtime headquarters, many of the buildings are aging, and their layout is inefficient, said Jeff Hatfield, senior vice president of manufacturing.
—Sacbee.com, 18 Dec. 2025
Keeping these efforts at the national level is financially and strategically inefficient.
—Douglas Rediker, Foreign Affairs, 17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inefficient
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inefficient
Adjective
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But her appeal was unsuccessful.—
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Industry lobbying unsuccessful to date Some advocates for the restaurant industry have been lobbying to change the way service fees are treated.—
Adjective
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The suspect then allegedly stepped towards the officers with the weapon, and officers deployed a Taser and a firearm at the same time, but the Taser was ineffective.—
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Combined with sensational media coverage and advocacy by special interests, such studies have led to ineffective or even harmful national health policies.—
Adjective
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Even Bill Gates, a onetime stalwart champion of climate action, said this week that near-term emissions targets are a distraction at best and could even be counterproductive for human welfare.—
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What resulted is one of the most comic, counterproductive, and clumsy episodes in the long history of British efforts to deal with Ireland.—
Cite this Entry
“Inefficient.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inefficient. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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