ineffectual.

Unable to produce the intended effect or make a meaningful difference.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• ineffectual response
• ineffectual leadership

On the page

The committee's ineffectual response allowed the same problem to recur.

Usage notes

Primary category: economics / business / social science. Forms: Comparative more ineffectual; superlative most ineffectual when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common.