Ineffectual

Definitions: Ineffectual

Ineffectual

Adjective

1. Not sufficient to produce a desired result; "an ineffectual effort to block the legislation".

2. Not producing an intended effect; "an ineffective teacher"; "ineffective legislation".

3. Producing no result or effect; "a futile effort"; "the therapy was ineffectual"; "an otiose undertaking"; "an unavailing attempt".

4. Lacking in power or forcefulness; "an ineffectual ruler"; "like an unable phoenix in hot ashes".

Date "ineffectual" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references)

Synonyms: Ineffectual

Synonyms: futile (adj), ineffective (adj), otiose (adj), unable (adj), unavailing (adj), uneffective (adj). (additional references)

Antonyms: effective (adj), effectual (adj). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Disrepute	Play second fiddle; lose caste; pale one's ineffectual fire; recede into the shade; fall from one's high estate; keep in the background; (modesty); be conscious of disgrace; (humility); look blue, look foolish, look like a fool; cut a poor figure, cut a sorry figure; laugh on the wrong side of the mouth; make a sorry face, go away with a flea in. one's ear, slink away.
Failure	Noun: failure; nonsuccess, nonfulfillment; dead failure, successlessness; abortion, miscarriage; brutum fulmen; labor in vain; (inutility); no go; inefficacy; inefficaciousness; Adjective: vain attempt, ineffectual attempt, abortive attempt, abortive efforts; flash in the pan, "lame and impotent conclusion"; frustration; slip 'twixt cup and lip; (disappointment).
	Abortive, addle, stillborn; fruitless, bootless; ineffectual, ineffective, inconsequential, trifling, nugatory; inefficient; (impotent); insufficient; unavailing; (useless); of no effect.
Impotence	Null and void, nugatory, inoperative, good for nothing; ineffectual; (failing); inadequate; inefficacious; (useless).
Inutility	Adjective: useless, inutile, inefficacious, futile, unavailing, bootless; inoperative; inadequate; (insufficient); inservient, unsubservient; inept, inefficient; (impotent); of no avail; (use); ineffectual; (failure); incompetent; (unskillful); " stale, flat and unprofitable"; superfluous; (redundant); dispensable; thrown away; (wasted); abortive; (immature).
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Crosswords: Ineffectual

English words defined with "ineffectual": bomb ♦ doormat, dud ♦ feckless, fecklessness ♦ gumming ♦ heave ♦ In idle, Ineffectible, ineffective, ineffectually, inept ♦ mousey, mousy, mumbling ♦ Remediless, retch ♦ turkey ♦ unable, Unefectual ♦ Vomiturition ♦ weakling, wimpish, wimpy, wuss. (references)

Specialty definitions using "ineffectual": Stowe Nine Churches ♦ tariff. (references)

Etymologies containing "ineffectual": Ineffectible. (references)

Domain	Title
Books	The Talent for Stupidity: The Psychology of the Bungler, the Incompetent, and the Ineffectual (reference) Imf Conditionality: Ineffectual, Inefficient, Mistargeted (Essays in International Finance, No 166) (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Author	Quotation
Honore De Balzac	All humanity is passion; without passion, religion, history, novels, art would be ineffectual.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man	Joyce, James	Its alternation of sad human ineffectualness with vast inhuman cycles of activity chilled him, and he forgot his own human and ineffectual grieving.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		FFP is useful in infants with secondary immunodeficiency associated with severe protein-losing enteropathy and in whom total parenteral nutrition is ineffectual. (references)
Business		Additionally, some contend that it has become too large and bureaucratic, and that the state commissions are ineffectual. (references)
Civil Liberties	Ukraine	In December 2000, President Kuchma issued a decree to protect the media; however, the decree is judged widely to be ineffectual. (references)
	Bangladesh	Video rental libraries provide a wide variety of films to their borrowers, and government efforts to enforce censorship on these rental films are sporadic and ineffectual. (references)
	Ukraine	In 1999 the Parliament had adopted a resolution on the media, also seen as ineffectual, that called for investigations into complaints of harassment of nonstate media by the State Tax Administration, the Prosecutor General's Office, or the Presidential Administration. (references)
Economic History	Germany	The right-wing parties remained fragmented and ineffectual at the national level. (references)
	Czech Republic	Civic Forum found, however, that although it had successfully completed its primary objective--the overthrow of the communist regime--it was ineffectual as a governing party. (references)
	Pakistan	A fragmentation in the governing coalition and the military's reluctance to support an apparently ineffectual and corrupt government were accompanied by a significant deterioration in law and order. (references)
Human Rights	Tanzania	Despite these actions, as well as the activities of the Prevention of Corruption Bureau (a separate and ineffectual arm of the police force tasked with combating police corruption), there were numerous complaints from civil society groups about police corruption during the year. (references)
Political Economy	Mozambique	The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, the executive branch dominates the judiciary, which lacks adequate resources, and is chronically understaffed, susceptible to corruption, and largely ineffectual. (references)
	Liberia	Presidential and legislative general elections were held on July 19, 1997, and are scheduled to be held next in 2003. The ruling party is the National Patriotic Party (NPP) and there are 16 opposition parties, most of them weak and ineffectual. (references)
Trade	Nigeria	Note: The provision regarding pre-inspection for personal and accompanied items, seen as ineffectual, has since been rescinded. (references)
Women	Australia	It is agreed widely that responses to the problem have been ineffectual. (references)
Lexicography	Devil's Dictionary	TARIFF, n. A scale of taxes on imports, designed to protect the domestic producer against the greed of his consumer. The Enemy of Human Souls Sat grieving at the cost of coals; For Hell had been annexed of late, And was a sovereign Southern State. "It were no more than right," said he, "That I should get my fuel free. The duty, neither just nor wise, Compels me to economize -- Whereby my broilers, every one, Are execrably underdone. What would they have? -- although I yearn To do them nicely to a turn, I can't afford an honest heat. This tariff makes even devils cheat! I'm ruined, and my humble trade All rascals may at will invade: Beneath my nose the public press Outdoes me in sulphureousness; The bar ingeniously applies To my undoing my own lies; My medicines the doctors use (Albeit vainly) to refuse To me my fair and rightful prey And keep their own in shape to pay; The preachers by example teach What, scorning to perform, I teach; And statesmen, aping me, all make More promises than they can break. Against such competition I Lift up a disregarded cry. Since all ignore my just complaint, By Hokey-Pokey! I'll turn saint!" Now, the Republicans, who all Are saints, began at once to bawl Against his competition; so There was a devil of a go! They locked horns with him, tete-a-tete In acrimonious debate, Till Democrats, forlorn and lone, Had hopes of coming by their own. That evil to avert, in haste The two belligerents embraced; But since 'twere wicked to relax A tittle of the Sacred Tax, 'Twas finally agreed to grant The bold Insurgent-protestant A bounty on each soul that fell Into his ineffectual Hell. Edam Smith
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
John Adams	1797-1801	The provisions for their support in foreign countries and for their return are found to be inadequate and ineffectual.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

"Ineffectual" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.42% of the time. "Ineffectual" is used about 173 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Adjective (general or positive)	99.42%	172	23,722
Noun (proper)	0.58%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	173	N/A

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "ineffectual"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		i padobishëm (bootless, de trop, fruitless, good for nothing, ineffective, inutile, kill time, marginal, naught, needless, ne'er do well, no earthly use, nugatory, otiose, riffraff, useless), pa rezultat (to no purpose). (various references)

Arabic		‏غير فعال (feckless, feeble, inactive, inefficient, inert, inoperative, passive), ‏غير مجد (ineffective, unavailing, wan), ‏عقيم (barren, effete, fruitless, futile, sterile, unfruitful, unproductiveness, useless, vain, void). (various references)

Bulgarian		несполучлив (dud, fortuneless, unfortunate, unhappy), неефикасен (ineffective, inefficacious, inefficient, inoperative, no good, unavailing), безрезултатен (ineffective, inefficient, sterile, unproductive, useless, void). (various references)

Chinese		� 效果 (inoperative). (various references)

Czech		neúspìšný (failed, flop, ineffective, unfortunate, unlucky, unsuccessful). (various references)

Farsi		غیرموثر (Ineffective, Inoperative), بیفایده (Ineffective, Vain), بیهوده (Idle, Impracticable, Ineffective, Jejune, Rodomontade, Trashy, Unfruitful, Vain), بی نتیجه (Abortive, Inconclusive, Indeterminate, Ineffective), بی اثر (Feckless, Inactive, Indfferent, Ineffective, Nude, Nugatory). (various references)

Finnish		tehoton (inactive, ineffective). (various references)

French		inefficace (ineffective, inefficacious, inefficient), incompétent (incapable, incompetent, ineffective, inefficient, inept), incapable (inadequate, incapable, incapacitated, incompetent, ineffective, inefficient). (various references)

German		ineffektiv (ineffective, ineffectively, inefficient). (various references)

Greek		άκαρποσ (abortive, fruitless, unfruitful). (various references)

Hebrew		לא יעיל (bootless, ineffective, inefficient, inept, shiftless), לא � ותן תוצאות, סרק (barren, barrenness, emptiness, futile). (various references)

Hungarian		hatástalan (effectless, futile, inconclusive, ineffective, inefficacious, inefficient, inoperative, non-effective, nugatory, of no effect, weak), haszontalan (barren, feckless, fiddling, frivolous, futile, good for nothing, helpless, idle, ne'er do well, ne'er-do-weel, null, otiose, punk, reprobate, unavailable, unavailing, unhelpful), eredménytelen (barren, futile, inefficient, of no avail, pointless). (various references)

Italian		inefficace (agreements conferring jurisdiction have no legal force, impotent, ineffective, inefficacious, inefficient, useless, weak), inconcludente (inconclusive), vano (aperture, bay, closet, coquettish, doorway, empty, fruitless, futile, gullet, idle, nugatory, pointless, pretty, recess, room, space, unsuccessful, useless, vain). (various references)

Manx		neufondagh (incapable, ineffective, inefficient, infirm, insolvent, insubstantial, insufficient, unbusinesslike), neuchlaghtagh, gyn vree (expressionless, feeble, impotent, ineffective, inexpressive, inoperative, invalid, lethargic, sapless, torpid, vigourless, void). (various references)

Pig Latin		ineffectualay

Portuguese		ineficaz (feculence, forcemeat, impound, ineffective, inefficiency, nugatory, powerless, unavailable, unavailing), incolor (colorless, colourless, febrifuge, lifelessness). (various references)

Romanian		incapabil (effete, feckless, impotent, incapable, ineffective, inefficient, insufficient, shiftless, unable, unapt, unequal, unfit), zadarnic (abortive, bootless, fruitless, futile, idle, ineffective, ineffectually, inexpedient, naught, nugatory, otiose, sinful, to no end, unavailing, unfruitful, unnecessary, useless, vain), fãrã rezultat (ineffective), anost (dull, flat, flavorless, flavourless, tedious, vapid). (various references)

Russian		бесплодный (abortive, arid, barren, effete, fruitless, infertile, jejune, otiose, sterile, unavailing, vain), безрезультатный (effectless, ineffective, inefficient, negative). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		neuspešan (bad job, fizzy, inefficacious, unfortunate, unsuccessful), nesposoban (incapable, incapacious, incompetent, ineffective, unable, unfit), neefektivan (inefficacious). (various references)

Spanish		ineficaz (ineffective, inefficient, nugatory, powerless, unsuccessful). (various references)

Swedish		verkningslös (ineffective, inefficacious, inoperative), utan verkan (inoperative), resultatlös (fruitless, inconclusive, ineffective), maktlös (forceless, impotent, impuissant, incapable, powerless), kraftlös (effete, enervated, feeble, forceless, impotent, impuissant, limp, milky, pithless, powerless, week). (various references)

Thai		ซึ่งไม่ไ�"้ผล. (various references)

Turkish		verimsiz (abortive, barren, emaciated, fruitless, idle, inefficacious, inefficient, infertile, jejune, lean, poor, sterile, thin, unfruitful, unproductive, unprofitable, unthrifty), güçsüz (crank, doughy, feeble, flabby, helpless, impotent, powerless, sapless, shaky, sinewless, strengthless, weak), faydasız (barren, bootless, fruitless, inefficacious, it's no go, it's no use, no good, nugatory, profitless, unavailing, unobliging, unprofitable, unusable, useless, vain, void), etkisiz (impotent, inactive, ineffective, inefficacious, inefficient, inoperative, nerveless, noneffective, non-effective, spent), boş (airy, barren, blank, bootless, captious, chimerical, desert, disengaged, empty, expressionless, fallacious, flat, for hire, free, frivolous, frothy, futile, gaseous, hollow, idle, inane, ineffective, invalid, leisure, meaningless, nugatory, null, pointless, puerile, punk, purposeless, spare, tenantless, thin, trumpery, unbuilt, unbuilt-on, unengaged, unfounded, unoccupied, unprofitable, unrecorded, unwritten-on, vacant, vacuous, vain, void, waste, windy, wishywashy, without any foundation, without foundation, yeasty), beceriksiz (awkward, bungler, bungling, clumsy, Duff, duffer, feckless, flat-footed, fumbling, gauche, gawky, ham-fisted, ham-handed, heavy-handed, helpless, impractical, inapt, incompetent, ineffective, inefficacious, inept, inexpert, left handed, lubber, maladroit, manque, ne'er do well, never-do-well, oaf, oafish, resourceless, rude, shiftless, slouch, unaccomplished, unhandy, unskilful, untalented), başarısız (abortive, ineffective, inefficacious, unfortunate, unfruitful, unlucky, unsuccessful), aciz (cheap, feckless, helpless, impotent, incapable, powerless, unable, weak). (various references)

Ukranian		невдалий (abortive, awry, bad, failed, infelicitous, lame, nasty, naughty, unfortunate, unhappy, unlucky, wide), безрезультатний (ineffective, issueless, negative, non-effective, null, sterile, without effect). (various references)

Vietnamese		không ăn thua vô ích bất lực. (various references)

Welsh		aneffeithiol (ineffective). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	inefficax, inritus irritus, irritus. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "ineffectual": ineffectualities, ineffectuality, ineffectually, ineffectualness, ineffectualnesses. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Ineffectual" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: indffectual, inefectual, ineffectnal. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "ineffectual" (pronounced i'nufe"kkhuwul)
6	-e" k kh uw u l	intellectual.
5	-k kh uw u l	contractual, factual.
4	-kh uw u l	conceptual, eventual, habitual, parimutuel, perpetual, ritual, virtual.
3	-uw u l	annual, audiovisual, biannual, bisexual, consensual, continual, gradual, manual, menstrual, residual, sexual, transsexual.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-c-e-e-f-f-i-l-n-t-u"
	-2 letters: affluence, effectual.
	-3 letters: affluent, caffeine, effluent, facelift, fanciful, feculent, nucleate.
	-4 letters: afflict, alunite, antiflu, caffein, cauline, centile, cuneate, cutline, eucaine, factful, faience, fateful, feculae, fiancee, fifteen, funicle, inflate, inflect, leucine, leucite, licente, lineate, linecut, lunatic, teenful, tunicae, tunicle, uniface.
	-5 letters: acetin, aculei, affect, affine, atelic, auntie, canful, cantle, catlin, centai, cental, cetane, client, cuneal.
	Words containing the letters "a-c-e-e-f-f-i-l-n-t-u"
	+2 letters: ineffectually.
	+3 letters: ineffectuality, ultraefficient.
	+4 letters: ineffectualness.
	+5 letters: ineffectualities, unaffectionately.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.