impracticable

[ im-prak-ti-kuh-buhl ]

adjective

1. not practicable; incapable of being put into practice with the available means:

   an impracticable plan.

2. unsuitable for practical use or purposes, as a device or material.
3. (of ground, places, etc.) impassable.
4. (of persons) hard to deal with because of stubbornness, stupidity, etc.

impracticable

/ ɪmˈpræktɪkəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being put into practice or accomplished; not feasible
2. unsuitable for a desired use; unfit
3. an archaic word for intractable

Derived Forms

• imˈpracticably, adverb
• imˌpracticaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• im·practi·ca·bili·ty im·practi·ca·ble·ness noun
• im·practi·ca·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of impracticable¹

First recorded in 1645–55; im- ² + practicable

Example Sentences

The minister for women and equalities Kemi Badenoch told the Times newspaper it was "impracticable for gender recognition regimes to vary in different parts of the country."

From BBC

It states that “any modification must be made in accordance with the donor’s probable intention” and only if the restriction has become “unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful.”

From New York Times

Although it may seem impracticable, a renegotiation will look more appealing in the decades ahead of us, more so, I suspect, in the face of genuine hardship.

From Salon

"It may be impracticable that our distinctively American experiment of individual freedom should go on."

From Salon

Critics say her idea of redeploying the ships to block departures is against the law and impracticable.

From Reuters