Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Keep "ineffectual" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "ineffectual" intact in the sentence you are editing.
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
After choosing a replacement for "ineffectual", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "ineffectual" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
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8 total sentences available.
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.
Source: tatoeba (1768567)
My efforts seemed ineffectual.
Source: tatoeba (11747962)
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.
Source: tatoeba (11884816)
"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."
Source: tatoeba (13557966)
Showing 4 of 8 available sentences.
Closest matches include futile, ineffective, abortive, acarpous, aimless.
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.