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uneconomical

uneconomical

1 5.6
Something that wastes a lot of money, time, or energy
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnˌɛkəˈnɑmɪkəl/
translation icon : ineficiente
  • If schools are to engage students in ambitious and creative projects, it is uneconomical to buy such expensive equipment.
  • makes it uneconomical
  • became uneconomical

Examples

  • Poorer people may have fewer options, but most of those I knew and know make uneconomical choices, and they make them often.

    Blog text (12)
  • Investing in solar panels can be uneconomical for households that do not use much electricity.

  • The high cost of energy has made thermal desalination uneconomical for most parts of the world.

    Academic text (2004)
  • When that didn't happen, it became uneconomical, especially with the uncertain licensing procedures, to invest in nuclear power, he said.

    Academic text (2006)
  • All previous airliners were uneconomical to operate, and early airlines depended on government subsidies to stay in business.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Also, the short stay of an average period of three years under current PCS policy makes home ownership uneconomical because capital appreciation over this short average period is insufficient to recover the substantial closing costs during this short stay.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Applications that are I/O intensive, which in astronomy often involve processing large quantities of image data, are, however, uneconomical to run because of the high cost of data transfer and storage.

    Academic text (2011)
  • In fact, the flat fee structure made it uneconomical for studios to hire high-salaried stars for these films, since budgets needed to be kept low enough to show a profit after the fees were received (Taves 314).

    Academic text (2016)
  • "We used to pay a hauler to remove the 50 gallons of floor mopping waste we generated, but that became uneconomical when we expanded our operation," said Mark McFarland, plant engineer and maintenance supervisor at R.W. Screw.

    Academic text (1994)
  • It is often considered uneconomical to run a business without a proper budget and financial plan.

Synonyms

inefficient
vsuneconomical
58 3.5

Not using time, work, or money well

stresses value for money and cost efficiency rather than only productivity
wasteful
vsuneconomical
48 3.0

Using more money or things than you need

focuses on saving costs and overall cost effectiveness not mere excess use
unprofitable
vsuneconomical
11 4.9

Not making money for a person or business

describes waste or poor cost effectiveness rather than only lack of profit
uneconomic
vsuneconomical
2 6.7

Not making enough money to be worth doing

includes broader costs like time and effort, not only financial loss

Antonyms

23 3.8

Not using much money or resources and avoiding waste

How Economical

efficient
424 3.0
economical
23 3.8
inefficient
58 3.5
uneconomical
1 5.6
wasteful
48 3.0

Surface Forms

uneconomical positive
uneconomicaler comparative
uneconomicalest superlative

Morphology

uneconomical = economical (transparent) = un + economy + ical

Adding the negative prefix 'un-' to the adjective 'economical' straightforwardly yields 'not cost-effective'.

Etymology

Uneconomical is made of the parts un- ('not') and economical, from the common word economy which means 'careful use of money or resources'. So, uneconomical literally means 'not careful with money or resources', which is why it describes something wasteful or not cost-effective.