Adjacent Words

Ineffective definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INEFFECT'IVE, a. [in and effective.] Not effective; not producing any effect, or the effect intended; inefficient; useless.
The word of God,without the spirit,is a dead and ineffective letter.
1. Not able; not competent to the service intended; as ineffective troops; ineffective force.
2. Producing no effect.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not producing an intended effect; "an ineffective teacher"; "ineffective legislation" [syn: ineffective, uneffective, ineffectual] [ant: effective, effectual, efficacious]
2: lacking in power or forcefulness; "an ineffectual ruler"; "like an unable phoenix in hot ashes" [syn: ineffective, ineffectual, unable]
3: lacking the ability or skill to perform effectively; inadequate; "an ineffective administration"; "inefficient workers" [syn: ineffective, inefficient]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Date: 1649 1. not producing an intended effect ; ineffectual <ineffective lighting> 2. not capable of performing efficiently or as expected ; incapable <an ineffective executive> • ineffectively adverb • ineffectiveness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 not producing any effect or the desired effect. 2 (of a person) inefficient; not achieving results. 3 lacking artistic effect. Derivatives: ineffectively adv. ineffectiveness n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ineffective In`ef*fect"ive, a. [Pref. in- not + effective: cf. F. ineffectif.] Not effective; ineffectual; futile; inefficient; useless; as, an ineffective appeal. The word of God, without the spirit, [is] a dead and ineffective letter. --Jer. Taylor.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you say that something is ineffective, you mean that it has no effect on a process or situation. Economic reform will continue to be painful and ineffective... ? effective ADJ • ineffectiveness ...the ineffectiveness of some of the police's anti-crime strategies.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Inefficacious. See ineffectual.

Moby Thesaurus

abortive, aimless, barren, bootless, counterproductive, effete, emasculate, empty, etiolated, failed, failing, fatuitous, fatuous, featherweight, feckless, forceless, fruitless, futile, ill-qualified, impotent, inadequate, inane, incapable, incapable of, incompetent, ineffectual, inefficacious, inefficient, inept, inferior, inoperative, invalid, invertebrate, lame, lightweight, maladjusted, manque, meaningless, miscarried, miscarrying, no go, no-account, not equal to, not up to, nugacious, nugatory, of no account, of no effect, of no force, of no use, pointless, powerless, purposeless, spineless, sterile, stickit, stillborn, successless, superfluous, unable, unable to, unadapted, unadjusted, unauthoritative, unavailable, unavailing, unendowed, unequipped, unfit, unfitted, unfortunate, ungifted, unproductive, unqualified, unsuccessful, untalented, useless, vain, weak, without any weight, worthless