ineffective
Americanadjective
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not effective; not producing results; ineffectual.
ineffective efforts; ineffective remedies.
-
inefficient or incompetent; incapable.
an ineffective manager.
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lacking in artistic effect, as a literary work, theatrical production, or painting.
adjective
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having no effect
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incompetent or inefficient
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ineffective
Explanation
Use the adjective ineffective to describe something that doesn't work quite the way it's supposed to. You might complain about your ineffective guard dog, who wags his tail and licks everyone who comes to your house. When you're ineffective, you're unable to accomplish something you're trying to do. You might realize that you're an ineffective babysitter when you can't get the kids to go to bed. Ineffective comes from the Latin prefix in, "not, or opposite of," added to effective, whose Latin root is effectivus, "productive." When something's unproductive, inefficient, or incapable, it's ineffective.
Vocabulary lists containing ineffective
Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: in-, im-, il-, ir-
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in-
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Novel Study: Hatchet
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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.
The findings do not suggest that exercise is ineffective or that it should no longer be recommended.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
When measles started circulating last year, Kennedy was slow to endorse the MMR shot and hawked ineffective measles treatments.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
The platform also did not "adequately" stop the sale of counterfeit products because its mandatory "brand authorisation" system "proved ineffective and understaffed. Therefore, traders easily bypassed this", the EU found.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
But the curbs have been criticised as ineffective, with many teens saying they can still access supposedly banned sites.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Apparently, whatever medicines they found in the Cornucopia have been ineffective.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
