inefficacy

American  

[in-ef-i-kuh-see] / ɪnˈɛf ɪ kə si /

noun

1. lack of power or capacity to produce the desired effect.

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Etymology

Origin of inefficacy

From the Late Latin word inefficācia, dating back to 1605–15. See in- ³, efficacy

Example Sentences

The process is often triggered by post-approval studies showing inefficacy, according to Harvard Law professor I. Glenn Cohen.

From Reuters • Mar. 23, 2023

He seemed to think he could figure this out, make the kind of adjustment he has made so many times before in a career defined by his ability to stave off long stretches of inefficacy.

From Washington Post • Oct. 7, 2022

If they fail to account for the complexities of bots, they may pass laws at great risk of failure due to ambiguity and inefficacy.

From Slate • Aug. 9, 2018

This extraordinary stylistic range stems from Graham’s wish to make a lavish formal show of her epistemological turbulence, her poems’ provisional victories over their own inefficacy.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 23, 2015

I could not help smiling at Cecil's humble substitute for the care of Providence, and inwardly moralising upon the equal inefficacy of others which are in more common repute.

From Discipline by Brunton, Mary