Word family noun effect effectiveness ≠ ineffectiveness adjective effective ≠ ineffective effectual ≠ ineffectual verb effect adverb effectively ≠ ineffectively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishineffectivein‧ef‧fec‧tive /ˌɪnəˈfektɪv◂/ ●○○ adjective EFFECTIVEsomething that is ineffective does not achieve what it is intended to achieve OPP effectiveineffective in doing something The chemical was almost totally ineffective in killing the weeds.ineffective against Various drugs have proved ineffective against the virus. an ineffective marketing campaign —ineffectively adverb —ineffectiveness noun [uncountable] the ineffectiveness of most dietsRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that something does not work rather than saying that it is ineffective:These drugs don’t work against bird flu.Examples from the Corpus
ineffective• Efforts to get homeless people off the streets have been largely ineffective.• I sometimes feel that she is just totally ineffective in this job.• A combination of ineffective management and inadequate investment brought about this collapse.ineffective in doing something• At this stage the C- field is also ineffective in stopping gravitational contraction.• Does this mean that absolution by the patient is ineffective in relieving the doctor of his duty?• However, although there was no damage to the crop, the herbicide was almost totally ineffective in killing the weeds.• However, glucocorticoids are usually ineffective in the hypercalcemia of primary hyperparathyroidism, Phosphate also inhibits bone resorption.• It is ineffective in hypoglycaemia induced by alcohol, in which liver glycogen is already depleted.• Kamieniecki was pressed into duty as a starter because Jimmy Key had been ineffective in Game 1.• Many of her leadership behaviors seen as productive in the low slack system prove ineffective in the high slack company.• On the crucial issue of land ownership, the many agrarian laws passed in various States have been ineffective in practice. 