unprofitable

/ʌn'prɔfitəbl/

Thân thiện

The company closed the unprofitable store last month.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not yielding profit or financial gain: Describes an activity, business, investment, or venture that does not produce a surplus of revenue over expenses; it results in a loss or break-even situation.
   • Not beneficial or advantageous: Can describe something that does not provide a useful return in terms of time, effort, or other resources invested.

Usage and Examples

• Describing a business or commercial activity:
  • The company was forced to close several unprofitable stores.
  • Farming on this arid land proved to be unprofitable.
• Describing a use of time or resources:
  • Arguing about it further is an unprofitable exercise.
  • He realized his research into the topic had been unprofitable.

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• Economic/Financial Context: The primary use is in business and economics to describe enterprises or transactions that fail to generate net income.
  • The merger was deemed unprofitable and was called off.
• Figurative/General Context: Used more broadly to describe any endeavor that does not yield a desired or useful outcome.
  • It is unprofitable to dwell on past mistakes.

Variants and Related Words

• Profitably (adverb): In a profitable manner.
  • The company now operates profitably.
• Profitability (noun): The state or degree of being profitable.
  • The profitability of the sector is declining.
• Nonprofit/Not-for-profit (adjective): These are distinct terms describing organizations (like charities) whose goal is not to generate profit for owners, not necessarily that they are loss-making.

Synonyms

• Loss-making: Incurring financial losses.
• Unremunerative: Not yielding financial reward.
• Fruitless: Failing to achieve the desired results; unproductive.
• Unproductive: Not producing or achieving much.

Antonyms

• Profitable: Yielding profit or financial gain.
• Lucrative: Producing a great deal of profit.
• Fruitful: Producing good or helpful results; productive.
• Gainful: Serving to increase wealth or resources.

Idioms and Fixed Phrases

• An unprofitable servant: A biblical and literary phrase denoting someone who fails in their duty or does not produce worthwhile results. (Note: This is a fixed phrase where "unprofitable" carries the meaning of "unworthy" or "unreliable" in a duty.)
  • "Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness..." (Matthew 25:30)

Học thuật

Adjective

1. producing little or no profit or gain
   • deposits abandoned by mining companies as unprofitable