as in unsuccessful
not producing the desired result
a well-intentioned but feckless response to the rise in school violence
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of feckless
After blowing a lead and giving up five third-period goals to Vegas, the Kings were utterly feckless in the final frame against Edmonton.
—
Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
As head coach, Conte was responsible for motivating his supposedly feckless players.
—Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Kelly, clearly, will keep standing up to these feckless attempts at coercion.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Blaine is not quite as feckless, but Sherman has an ace in the hole in Garfield, who agrees to endorse him in a speech.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feckless
Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
As head coach, Conte was responsible for motivating his supposedly feckless players.
—Dan Kilpatrick, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Kelly, clearly, will keep standing up to these feckless attempts at coercion.
—Chris Brennan, USA Today, 8 Jan. 2026
Blaine is not quite as feckless, but Sherman has an ace in the hole in Garfield, who agrees to endorse him in a speech.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for feckless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for feckless
Adjective
-
The mammal’s health deteriorated as it became repeatedly stranded in shallow waters, and unsuccessful efforts to coax it toward deeper seas were livestreamed across the globe.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
-
The child was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Azle, where additional lifesaving efforts were unsuccessful, the sheriff's office said.—
Doug Myers,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The middle innings are when things tend to get inefficient for Peralta.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
The idea for Revise emerged from Sapek’s observations of how documents are handled in professional settings, where workflows can involve multiple versions, inefficient copying and pasting between chat apps and word processors, and limited visibility into revision history.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The processing element tiles operate on compressed matrices, eliminating all unnecessary and ineffectual computation.—
Olivia Hsu,
IEEE Spectrum,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The power struggle swirls around the saintly, ineffectual King Henry until gradually the dynamic York, who has pretended to support Margaret while secretly hatching his own plot, emerges as the chief contender for the throne.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Western dominance over cross-border media flows and the increasing concentration of ownership of national and international media by a limited number of Western conglomerates were identified as counterproductive to such ideals.—
Stijn Joye,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The departure of Matt Roy was hedged somewhat by the signing of Joel Edmundson two summers ago, but replacing Vladislav Gavrikov and Jordan Spence with Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci while Drew Doughty, 36 and in his 18th season, grays and frays has proven highly counterproductive.—
Andrew Knoll,
Daily News,
18 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Feckless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/feckless. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
