Ungainfully
adv ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Without being paid; unprofitably.
"In later times this office was assigned by settled usage to the crier of the Court, who in this capacity was called " the common vouchee," and thus cheerfully and, we presume, not ungainfully passed his life, or so much thereof as was covered by the legal terms, in perpetual contempt of the Court of Common Pleas and liability to be fined at the king's discretion."
- 2 Without accomplishing anything; unprofitably.
"At the end of the day 25 per cent of the working time of the gang and of the expensive machine, has been ungainfully spent."
- 3 In an ungainly manner; awkwardly.
"Life reported that he "never walks fast but lumbers along ungainfully to conserve his energy. He never exercises but is exceptionally strong.""
Example
More examples"In later times this office was assigned by settled usage to the crier of the Court, who in this capacity was called " the common vouchee," and thus cheerfully and, we presume, not ungainfully passed his life, or so much thereof as was covered by the legal terms, in perpetual contempt of the Court of Common Pleas and liability to be fined at the king's discretion."
Etymology
From un- + gainful + -ly.
More for "ungainfully"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.