impractical

[ im-prak-ti-kuhl ]

adjective

1. not practical or useful.
2. not capable of dealing with practical matters; lacking sense.
3. idealistic.
4. impracticable.

impractical

/ ɪmˈpræktɪkəl /

adjective

1. not practical or workable

   an impractical solution

2. not given to practical matters or gifted with practical skills

   he is intelligent but too impractical for commercial work

Derived Forms

• imˈpractically, adverb
• imˌpractiˈcality, noun

Other Words From

• im·practi·cali·ty im·practi·cal·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of impractical¹

First recorded in 1860–65; im- ² + practical

Example Sentences

But even then, Arthur said, it would be impractical to expect immediate results.

From Los Angeles Times

Many Republicans in Congress say privately that those ideas are impractical, because they would cost trillions in lost revenue.

From Los Angeles Times

But many options are rendered impractical by his imminent return to the White House.

From BBC

When talking about controversial topics, drop the impractical agenda of changing the other person’s mind.

From Los Angeles Times

While the original plantation scheme envisioned the complete ethnic cleansing of Ulster’s indigenous Irish-speaking Catholics, that proved impractical — the new landlords required laborers and servants, after all.

From Salon

Related Words

• absurd
• illogical
• impossible
• improbable
• quixotic
• speculative
• unattainable
• unreal
• unusable
• unwise
• unworkable
• useless