unrepayingadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnrᵻˈpeɪɪŋ/, /(ˌ)ʌnriːˈpeɪɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌənriˈpeɪɪŋ/, /ˌənrəˈpeɪɪŋ/ That does not repay; unrewarding of effort. Chiefly figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > [adjective] > profitless or unrewarding
unspeedya1300
speedless13..
improfitablea1325
unthriftyc1374
unnotefula1400
rewardless1481
thriveless1521
unbehovablea1557
thriftless1568
profitless1574
ungainful1599
unprofiteda1616
unthriving1617
ungaining1632
endlessa1640
gainless1640
improficuous1650
unrewarding1651
uncompensated1775
unrepaying1829
ungainsome1832
blind alley1902
dead end1928
1829 C. Rowles & M. Rowles Nadaber 26 Whole heaps of flowery wealth On the unrepaying ground.
1866 Chambers's Jrnl. Dec. 785 Another almost as unrepaying a branch of literary labour.
1868 R. L. Poole in Contemp. Rev. Jan. 112 As we study the dry and unrepaying pages of the Ritual.
1916 Everybody's Mag. Aug. 194 A stinging conviction that life was an empty, sterile, unrepaying thing.
1995 R. King Domino xv. 123 This cheerless and unrepaying meal—dry bread, a thin soup, a few strips of salted pork.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1829