unfulfilling
- adjective
- /ˌʌn.fʊlˈfɪl.ɪŋ/
- But have you ever been in a job that was not just personally unfulfilling but also detrimental to humanity?
- unfulfilling relationship
And that's very unfulfilling when you fail at your own plan.
- And that's very unfulfilling when you fail at your own plan.
- Like that was so unfulfilling for me.
- But that that to me is an unfulfilling life.
- And I, and I think that even that would become kind of unfulfilling at some point, right?
- I think a stress free life, a life with no stress would be relatively unfulfilling and quite boring.
- They are shallow, hollow, transactional, and unfulfilling.
- Either he will cheat, become toxic, become extremely unfulfilling, or flat out leave you all right.
Examples
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What if sleep is bad, inadequate, or unfulfilling?
Blog text (11) -
It's really sad, because basically 90 percent of people are just so sad and lonely and have such an unfulfilling life.
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And I, and I think that even that would become kind of unfulfilling at some point, right?
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I feel then it must have been unfulfilling for him.
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Or, worse yet, an unfulfilling job.
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I think a stress free life, a life with no stress would be relatively unfulfilling and quite boring.
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And he will go on to a long and distinguished, but... somewhat unfulfilling career as a surgeon.
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Her ten years as a studio portraitist were financially successful, but personally unfulfilling.
Academic text (1995) -
I found the finale unfulfilling because they revealed that the flash sideways story went nowhere and didn't contribute to the plot.
Blog text (4) -
Many people find their daily tasks to be unfulfilling and crave a sense of purpose.
Synonyms
Not as good as you expected or hoped
Not good enough to be acceptable
Less good than you expected and leaving you disappointed
Does not make you feel satisfied or successful
Not giving pleasure or reward
Not as good as expected or needed
Antonyms
How Fulfilling
Surface Forms
Morphology
unfulfilling = fulfilling (transparent) = un + fulfill + ing
The adjective is formed by adding the negative prefix 'un-' to 'fulfilling', which directly negates the base meaning.
Etymology
The word unfulfilling starts with un- meaning 'not' and the part fulfill meaning 'to make full', just like full and fill. So, like a cup that never becomes full, unfulfilling describes something that does not give 'satisfaction' or a feeling of achievement.