Can I use a DVI to HDMI adapter to connect a Thunderbolt port to HDMI?

I meant a mini display port to HDMI. I'm having an issue trying to connect to an HDMI-equipped large screen TV from a mac. I've tried two MacBooks and an iMac with "no signal." Known good HDMI cable. I think it's got to be a bad adapter.

Yes, I was using a cheap adapter from Amazon. I couldn't borrow one from anyone around here to run a test. I've ordered another one, a Metabridge Ultra. Hope that fixes the problem. Thank you for your response.