How to Use unsuccessful in a Sentence

unsuccessful

adjective
  • His last novel was unsuccessful.
  • The Sailors tried the same play twice in the fourth quarter but were unsuccessful.
    Wright Wilson, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2023
  • The city has tried to foreclose on the mall, but it's been unsuccessful.
    Genevieve Redsten, Journal Sentinel, 19 Dec. 2022
  • The Suns challenged the call that was ruled unsuccessful.
    Duane Rankin, The Arizona Republic, 11 Mar. 2023
  • Rescue crews in boats tried to reach the house but were unsuccessful.
    Marissa Parra, NBC News, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Efforts to trap the bear at that time were unsuccessful.
    CBS News, 9 Sep. 2023
  • Ripa tried to find the woman who gave her the note but was unsuccessful.
    Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 31 Oct. 2022
  • But boycotts against the rom-com have, so far, been unsuccessful.
    Haley Strack, National Review, 26 Nov. 2023
  • At the time of writing, attempts to reach him were unsuccessful.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 30 June 2023
  • Attempts by The Times to reach the teacher who quit — who had moved from Montana and was in her first year — were unsuccessful.
    Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2023
  • But the group’s legal efforts to stop the center, which date to 2018, have been unsuccessful.
    Chicago Tribune, 4 Nov. 2022
  • Attempts to change the status quo have been scarce and unsuccessful.
    Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 13 Dec. 2023
  • The Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in its statement Monday that the search for the grizzly who attacked was so far unsuccessful.
    Dennis Romero, NBC News, 25 July 2023
  • An initial search for the jet was unsuccessful, Kozak says.
    Kaila Nichols, CNN, 15 June 2024
  • The $400 clue saw a valiant, yet unsuccessful, attempt made by one of the contestants.
    Charles Trepany, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2023
  • Work on the Red Line also appears to have been even unsuccessful.
    Taylor Dolven, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Jones was unsuccessful in his efforts to get the case dismissed.
    Hojun Choi, Dallas News, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Efforts to reach lawyers for the three were unsuccessful Thursday.
    Ted Bunker, WSJ, 30 Nov. 2023
  • The plan was to upgrade the water system, but the effort was unsuccessful.
    Jim Axelrod, CBS News, 25 Oct. 2022
  • Attempts to reach Taylor and Heiar, who was fired in March, were unsuccessful.
    Tom Schad, USA TODAY, 19 Apr. 2023
  • The officer tried to scare the dogs away to stop them attacking the woman, but was unsuccessful.
    Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 4 Dec. 2023
  • The Post’s attempts to reach Jones for comment were unsuccessful.
    Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
  • The homeowner told police that three men tried to break down his door but were unsuccessful and left.
    Bradford Betz, Fox News, 28 Dec. 2023
  • Robinson at the time urged the council to issue a vote of no confidence in Platt, but was unsuccessful.
    Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 28 Mar. 2024
  • Officers who arrived at the scene tried to make contact with the man but were unsuccessful.
    Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023
  • The actor was unsuccessful because the IDP had been removed.
    Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 23 Oct. 2023
  • On May 23, a rescue team attempted to cut the line, but the effort proved unsuccessful.
    Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 24 May 2024
  • Samuels sought to make Israel a focus in his race against Omar but was unsuccessful in ousting her.
    Mabinty Quarshie, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 14 Aug. 2024
  • Eddie also made his first, instantly unsuccessful attempt at sobriety around the same time.
    Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2024
  • These are groups that generally are unsuccessful in getting the Legislature to address their priorities.
    Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 12 Oct. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unsuccessful.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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