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Synonyms

uneconomical

British  
/ ˌʌniːkəˈnɒmɪkəl, ˌʌnɛkə- /

adjective

  1. not economical; wasteful

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Explanation

Leaving all your lights on all the time is an uneconomical, or wasteful. Rewriting this sentence using five hundred words would be an uneconomical, or inefficient, use of language. You may think you've made an uneconomical choice when you spend too much money on dinner, but sometimes the government gets criticized for being uneconomical with taxpayer money for spending several hundred dollars on a special type of paperweight or screwdriver that could have been purchased for much less.

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Vocabulary lists containing uneconomical

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Ultimately, a shell-company tax would render many deceptive corporate structures uneconomical and drive businesses into the sunlight of traditional business structures.

From MarketWatch Aug. 27, 2026

Prices for lumber have risen sharply from some of the lowest inflation-adjusted prices on record late last year, which made operating uneconomical for many sawmills, particularly in Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal May 26, 2026

Springs was once a booming gold town, but its mines were closed several years ago because the extreme depth of the shafts made operations uneconomical.

From BBC Feb. 17, 2026

Oil at $50 a barrel may be uneconomical for some.

From Barron's Jan. 6, 2026

In addition, the largest domestic mammals interacted with domestic plants to increase food production by pulling plows and thereby making it possible for people to till land that had previously been uneconomical for farming.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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