impracticable
Americanadjective
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not practicable; incapable of being put into practice with the available means.
an impracticable plan.
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unsuitable for practical use or purposes, as a device or material.
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(of ground, places, etc.) impassable.
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(of persons) hard to deal with because of stubbornness, stupidity, etc.
adjective
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incapable of being put into practice or accomplished; not feasible
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unsuitable for a desired use; unfit
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an archaic word for intractable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impracticable
First recorded in 1645–55; im- 2 + practicable
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It is hard to justify now, but back then it seemed impracticable to claw back our family’s time and tranquility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
“It is impracticable to guard against all possible danger of people’s choosing their officers indiscreetly,” Iredell told the North Carolina convention in 1788.
From Slate ● May 9, 2025
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 ● May 21, 2024
"It may be impracticable that our distinctively American experiment of individual freedom should go on."
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2023
I meant to become her governess once more, but I soon found this impracticable; my time and cares were now required by another—my husband needed them all.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
