as in futile
producing no results
an unsuccessful attempt to fix the faucet ourselves
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of unsuccessful
This legal action follows two years of unsuccessful negotiations over revenue-sharing models that the teams felt were not productive, prompting them to take this step of pursuing litigation against NASCAR and its Chairman, Jim France.
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Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
The process now played out, the Blue Jays face a similar scenario of having to regroup after an unsuccessful high-stakes free-agent pursuit.
—Kaitlyn McGrath, The Athletic, 10 Dec. 2024
But attempts to detect them in space or create them in particle accelerators have so far been unsuccessful.
—Tom Siegfried, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2024
His $7 billion investment in India’s Aircel was unsuccessful, with the company filing for bankruptcy in 2018 amid cutthroat competition.
—Yessar Rosendar, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unsuccessful 
Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
The process now played out, the Blue Jays face a similar scenario of having to regroup after an unsuccessful high-stakes free-agent pursuit.
—Kaitlyn McGrath, The Athletic, 10 Dec. 2024
But attempts to detect them in space or create them in particle accelerators have so far been unsuccessful.
—Tom Siegfried, Discover Magazine, 29 Nov. 2024
His $7 billion investment in India’s Aircel was unsuccessful, with the company filing for bankruptcy in 2018 amid cutthroat competition.
—Yessar Rosendar, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for unsuccessful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsuccessful
Adjective
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With dwindling options, Iran also withdrew its allied militias, recognizing that fighting for Assad would be futile.Natasha Hall, Foreign Affairs, 9 Dec. 2024
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This prospect seems likely because the ACLU is poised to pursue the case if the government drops out, making withdrawal by the new Trump administration potentially futile.Catherine Cole, CBS News, 22 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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This is a fashion collab designed for women’s bodies to be looked at, but the functionality is useless.Jamie Aranoff, Outside Online, 12 Dec. 2024
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It was built on NBA men who subsidized that useless league for decades.Asher Notheis, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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One is Eliot Spitzer, who during his abortive tenure as governor, knocked heads to get slow-mo insurers to pay the giant settlement that a court had awarded to Silverstein.Justin Davidson, Curbed, 11 Sep. 2024
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The picture arrives, of course, at a fallow time for Marvel after a string of duds and an abortive attempt to introduce a new superhero phase following the climactic, stage-clearing (and absurdly lucrative) battles of Avengers: Endgame.Zoe Guy, Vulture, 25 July 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near unsuccessful
Cite this Entry
“Unsuccessful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsuccessful. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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