Word family noun profit profitability profiteering profiteer adjective profitable ≠ unprofitable profitless verb profit profiteer adverb profitably profitlessly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishunprofitableun‧prof‧it‧a‧ble /ʌnˈprɒfətəbəl $ -ˈprɑː-/ adjective 1 BBmaking no profit unprofitable businesses2 formalPOINTLESS producing no advantages It would be unprofitable to pursue this argument any further.Examples from the Corpus
unprofitable• Eflornithine, a new drug for sleeping sickness, was discontinued because it was unprofitable.• The company says that the publishing side of its division is unprofitable and must be closed down.• The bank isn't likely to lend money to an unprofitable business like yours.• LeBow bought the Liggett Group in 1986 and later combined it with several other unprofitable companies into the Brooke Group.• Unprofitable flight routes have been axed as recession hits the aviation industry.• I stopped this unprofitable growth just in time.• As farming in North Queensferry, Fife, proved unprofitable, he moved to London in 1828.• unprofitable state-owned enterprisesFrom Longman Business Dictionaryunprofitableun‧prof‧it‧a‧ble /ʌnˈprɒfətəbəl-ˈprɑː-/ adjectiveFINANCE an unprofitable business or activity does not make a profitThe factory was unprofitable and was closed down. —unprofitably adverbTheir plastics business continued to operate unprofitably in the first quarter of this year. 