unprofitable
- adjective
- /ʌnˈprɒfɪtəbl/
- People like to point out that many tech companies are unprofitable when they go public.
- unprofitable firms
- unprofitable enterprises
- unprofitable activities
I should note that an economy made-up of unprofitable companies does have its risks.
- I should note that an economy made-up of unprofitable companies does have its risks.
- And they make it unprofitable to talk about that kind of shit.
- Terrible how much money though, because generative AI is unprofitable inference, which is the thing you do when you prompt it.
Examples
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In 1998, some large chaebols, including Hanbo and Kia, went bankrupt because of their inefficient and unprofitable business practices.
Academic text (2000) -
In July 2012, the company announced that they might begin closing unprofitable European stores immediately.
Blog text (20) -
I will not keep unprofitable clients on the books.
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That would be unprofitable for both of us.
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Union inefficiency, pay, and benefits made them unprofitable, especially in the current economic climate.
Blog text (18) -
He predicted that after a few years of being unprofitable, Tesla would go under.
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Subsidization occurs within universities as well, in the form of using revenue from profitable programs to fund unprofitable programs.
Academic text (2016) -
Political, corporate, and community leaders can help to reverse this unprofitable exchange between grantmaker and grant recipient.
Academic text (1999) -
Many investors are wary of companies that are unprofitable for extended periods of time.
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The startup struggled to find investors because its business model was unprofitable.
Synonyms
Not making enough money to be worth doing
Something that wastes a lot of money, time, or energy
Not making money or giving any useful result
Not likely to sell well or make money
Not about money, trade, or profit but about other values
Work that does not pay or make a profit
Antonyms
How Profitable
Surface Forms
Morphology
unprofitable = profitable (transparent) = un + profit + able
Standard negative prefix 'un-' applied to 'profitable' gives the straightforward meaning 'not profitable'.
Etymology
Unprofitable comes from the prefix un- meaning 'not' and the word profit meaning 'gain' or 'money you earn'. So unprofitable describes something that does not give a gain and does not make money.