ineffective
adjective
Simple meaning
Not producing an intended effect.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihnihfehktivSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪnɪˈfɛktɪv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Not producing an intended effect
Not having the desired effect; ineffectual; otiose.
Lacking in ability; incompetent or inadequate.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Not producing an intended effect
Used this way, ineffective is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use ineffective
- “An ineffective teacher.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Not producing an intended effect.
Not efficient; not producing the effect intended or desired; inefficacious.
Not producing or capable of producing.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: not producing an intended effect
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.