Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The state or quality of being incapable of producing a desired effect or result.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Lack of efficacy or power to produce the desired effect; ineffectualness; failure of effect.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Lack of power to produce the desired or proper effect; inefficiency; ineffectualness; futility; uselessness; fruitlessness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The condition of being ineffective

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a lack of efficacy

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Of force, the inefficacy has been already tried; since the Latins have subdued the empire, without subduing the minds, of the Greeks.

    The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206

  • Consider Hamilton's observation regarding the "inefficacy" of Government.

    Why We Need A New Constitution: Part 3 of 21 2009

  • Now, Reid has brought the kind of inefficacy that led to the demise of health care to the forefront on jobs.

    The Crimson White CW Staff 2010

  • That the only fond thoughts on Rahm's departure are coming from a conservative Beltway columnist reveals the inefficacy of Rahm as Chief of Staff under the first two years of Obama.

    John Wellington Ennis: How Rahm Bombed John Wellington Ennis 2010

  • That the only fond thoughts on Rahm's departure are coming from a conservative Beltway columnist reveals the inefficacy of Rahm as Chief of Staff under the first two years of Obama.

    John Wellington Ennis: How Rahm Bombed John Wellington Ennis 2010

  • Whalen, managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics, who earlier this month speculated the nation is only one quarter of the way through the foreclosure crisis, said the current situation is reminiscent of the early years of the Great Depression -- both in the severity of the crisis and the inefficacy of the government response.

    Mortgage Crisis Is 'Cancer,''Slow Wasting Process,' Analyst Says The Huffington Post 2010

  • … This was due to the poor hygiene, the wide spread of endemic regularly occurring diseases, the occurrence of epidemics, and the inefficacy of most medical treatments.

    Modern Science in the Bible Ben Hobrink 2011

  • That the only fond thoughts on Rahm's departure are coming from a conservative Beltway columnist belies the inefficacy of Rahm as Chief of Staff under the first two years of Obama.

    John Wellington Ennis: How Rahm Bombed John Wellington Ennis 2010

  • … This was due to the poor hygiene, the wide spread of endemic regularly occurring diseases, the occurrence of epidemics, and the inefficacy of most medical treatments.

    Modern Science in the Bible Ben Hobrink 2011

  • … This was due to the poor hygiene, the wide spread of endemic regularly occurring diseases, the occurrence of epidemics, and the inefficacy of most medical treatments.

    Modern Science in the Bible Ben Hobrink 2011

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