Ineffectual
adj ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Unable or insufficient to produce effect.
"1865, Henry David Thoreau, Cape Cod, Chapter II. "Stage-coach Views", page 16. This coach was an exceedingly narrow one, but as there was a slight spherical excess over two on a seat, the driver waited till nine passengers had got in, without taking the measure of any of them, and then shut the door after two or three ineffectual slams, as if the fault were all in the hinges or the latch,—while we timed our inspirations and expirations so as to assist him."
- 2 Worthless; ineffective.
- 3 Weak, indecisive; lacking forcefulness.
"Our group leader proved highly ineffectual, caving to every whim put forth by the other members."
- 1 not producing an intended effect wordnet
- 2 lacking in power or forcefulness wordnet
- 3 producing no result or effect wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"And when the hourglass has run out, the hourglass of temporality, when the noise of secular life has grown silent and its restless or ineffectual activism has come to an end, when everything around you is still, as it is in eternity, then eternity asks you and every individual in these millions and millions about only one thing: whether you have lived in despair or not."
Etymology
From in- + effectual.
Related phrases
More for "ineffectual"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.