unprofitable
gb/ʌnpɹˈɑfɪtəbəl/ us/ʌnpɹˈɑfɪtəbəl/
B2
Anglais
Sens
0 sens
adjective
B2
property
1
not making financial profit
not earning more money than it costs
Schéma d’usage :
an unprofitable [business/activity/investment/product]; prove/remain/become unprofitable
Erreur fréquente :
Do not confuse unprofitable with nonprofit. A nonprofit organization is not run mainly to make profit; an unprofitable business is losing money or not making enough money.
Synonymes
loss-making (especially common in business contexts; emphasizes losing money)
|
unremunerative (more formal; emphasizes not paying enough)
|
uneconomic (emphasizes not being worth the cost)
Antonymes
profitable (making more money than it costs)
|
lucrative (making a large or attractive profit)
Collocations
unprofitable business
|unprofitable company
|unprofitable venture
|unprofitable investment
|unprofitable product line
|unprofitable route
|unprofitable operations
|unprofitable customers
|remain unprofitable
|prove unprofitable
Thèmes
business
|finance
|economics
Exemples
- The airline dropped several unprofitable routes last year.
- The company is growing fast, but it remains unprofitable.
- They closed the unprofitable factory and moved production overseas.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The shop was unprofitable, so it closed.
- This product is popular but unprofitable.
adjective
formal
C1
property
2
not useful or worthwhile
not useful or not worth doing
Schéma d’usage :
an unprofitable [discussion/debate/exercise/line of inquiry]; unprofitable to [do something]
Erreur fréquente :
In everyday speech, people more often say unproductive, pointless, or not worth it. Unprofitable in this sense can sound formal.
Synonymes
unproductive (common neutral word for producing no useful result)
|
fruitless (emphasizes that an effort produced no result)
|
pointless (more informal and stronger; suggests there is no purpose)
Antonymes
productive (producing useful results)
|
worthwhile (worth the time or effort)
|
useful (having practical value)
Collocations
unprofitable discussion
|unprofitable debate
|unprofitable exercise
|unprofitable line of inquiry
|unprofitable speculation
|unprofitable argument
|unprofitable comparison
|unprofitable pursuit
Thèmes
communication
|work
|decision_making
Exemples
- The meeting turned into an unprofitable argument about old mistakes.
- It would be unprofitable to spend more time on a theory we cannot test.
- The lawyer avoided an unprofitable line of questioning.
Exemples pédagogiques
- This debate is unprofitable.
- It is unprofitable to argue about small details.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
unprofitable
API
GB/ʌnpɹˈɑfɪtəbəl/
US/ʌnpɹˈɑfɪtəbəl/
Syllabes et accentuation
un - prof - it - able (4 syllabes)
Stress on 2nd syllable (prof)
Formes du mot
Adjective
- Base: unprofitable
Expressions
Aucune expression n’est encore associée à cette entrée.