inefficient
Americanadjective
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not efficient; unable to effect or achieve the desired result with reasonable economy of means.
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lacking in ability, incompetent.
adjective
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unable to perform a task or function to the best advantage; wasteful or incompetent
-
unable to produce the desired result
Related Words
See incapable.
Other Word Forms
- inefficiency noun
- inefficiently adverb
Etymology
Origin of inefficient
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.
Coal plants, which can’t easily shut down and restart, either operate at a loss during those hours or ramp down to levels that are inefficient and cause mechanical wear and tear, Dorris said.
What struck me most was the assumption beneath it all: that stopping to eat is not indulgent or inefficient, but necessary.
From Salon
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "We want to work with local councils to deliver our ambition to simplify local government and end inefficient two-tier structures, including in Essex."
From BBC
Ordinary Saudis, royals and officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed told me during a two-week visit to Riyadh that he understands he moved too fast and created inefficient spending.
In opposition to the efficient-market hypothesis, which holds that stock prices reflect all available information, Haugen argued that “the pathetically inefficient market doesn’t seem to have a clue as to what is going on.”
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.
