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inefficient

inefficient

58 3.5
Not using time, work, or money well
  • adjective
  • /ˌɪnɪˈfɪʃənt/
translation icon : ineficiente
  • Now that's challenging because the homes that we have in the UK are pretty old and inefficient overall.
  • inefficient use
  • inefficient use of resources
  • inefficient use of energy

In fact, most systems are more inefficient than we are in terms of energy required.

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Examples

  • We have a tremendously inefficient healthcare delivery system.

  • "What you are suggesting is highly inefficient and a complete waste of time," she said.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • In fact, most systems are more inefficient than we are in terms of energy required.

  • This is a really inefficient tool.

  • The most inefficient animals on the planet are humans.

  • It's a horribly inefficient way of producing things people need.

  • This is the most inefficient balloon business I've ever seen.

  • The gasoline engine is inefficient and poisons our environment.

  • Columbia is fascinating because it is the most inefficient place I've ever been in my entire life.

  • This is a really inefficient tool for completing the project.

Synonyms

ineffective
vsinefficient
90 3.4

Not working well enough to give the wanted result

emphasizes wasted time, effort, or resources rather than just lack of result
wasteful
vsinefficient
48 3.0

Using more money or things than you need

also covers poor results and lost effort rather than only overuse
unproductive
vsinefficient
21 3.8

Not giving useful or wanted results

wastes time, effort, or resources rather than only failing to produce
ineffectual
vsinefficient
18 6.8

Not able to produce the result wanted

stresses waste of time and resources rather than lack of personal power
nonproductive
vsinefficient
2 4.5

Not giving useful results or helping to finish work, like a meeting

focuses on wasting resources and lost effort rather than lack of output
uneconomical
vsinefficient
1 5.6

Something that wastes a lot of money, time, or energy

is about failing to get good results rather than only higher cost
inefficacious
vsinefficient
9.4

Not effective at making the result you want

highlights wasting resources and lost effort rather than only failing result

Antonyms

424 3.0

Able to do tasks well and quickly without wasting time or energy

How Efficient

productive
293 3.5
efficient
424 3.0
inefficient
58 3.5
wasteful
48 3.0

Surface Forms

inefficient positive
inefficienter comparative
inefficientest superlative

Morphology

inefficient = efficient (transparent) = in + efficient

This is a standard negative prefixation of 'efficient', and the meaning 'not efficient' is directly predictable.

Etymology

The word inefficient is made of the parts in- 'not' and efficient 'working well' or 'doing a job without waste'. So inefficient describes something that does not work well and wastes time, effort, or resources.