Synonyms

inefficient

American

[in-i-fish-uhnt] / ˌɪn ɪˈfɪʃ ənt /

adjective

not efficient; unable to effect or achieve the desired result with reasonable economy of means.
lacking in ability, incompetent.

inefficient British

/ ˌɪnɪˈfɪʃənt /

adjective

unable to perform a task or function to the best advantage; wasteful or incompetent
unable to produce the desired result

"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

Related Words

See incapable.

Other Word Forms

inefficiency noun
inefficiently adverb

Etymology

Origin of inefficient

First recorded in 1740–50; in- ³ + efficient

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.

By eschewing inefficient long twos, Curry and Harden became the two most lethal scorers in the NBA.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The Navy’s public shipyards have been terrible at the management process in general and they’re extremely inefficient,” Clark said.

From The Wall Street Journal

“This approach is also inefficient—we have an abundance of data that antibody responses are an excellent proxy measure for vaccine effectiveness against disease.”

From Salon

“We could make a case that the capital structure is inefficient,” they say.

From The Wall Street Journal

These would be extremely inefficient, he points out, in comparison to heat pumps and electrification.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023