Ineffectual

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.

My efforts seemed ineffectual.

In the reign of King Stephen, the Castle was seized by Baldwin de Redvers, Earl of Devon; and though the King afterwards endeavoured to dispossess him, his efforts were ineffectual.

"Past me was a weak, wimpy, ineffectual little thing," Alice stated sullenly, "a total doormat, the kind of person that would let you walk all over her. She was more concerned with being a 'good girl' and getting along with everyone and not making waves than expressing her true feelings." She shook her head, then turned to stare Linda square in the eyes. "But you… you changed all that. And for the better. You got me to brush aside my totally PC façade and just express the inner me."

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.

Until the recent rash of North London line maps appeared on station billboards in the London area of BR, the service undoubtedly suffered from meagre and ineffectual publicity.

And this is where the larger problem lies: when states try to enforce impossible bans, everyone loses. 3D printing farragoes have all the hallmarks of the absolute worst kind of ineffectual ban: one which encourages overly draconian laws that carry huge side effects, and that ultimately to have little to no effect.

Our group leader proved highly ineffectual, caving to every whim put forth by the other members.