far-fetched

American  

[fahr-fecht] / ˈfɑrˈfɛtʃt /

Or farfetched

adjective

1. improbable; not naturally pertinent; being only remotely connected; forced; strained.

   He brought in a far-fetched example in an effort to prove his point.

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far-fetched British  

adjective

1. improbable in nature; unlikely

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Other Word Forms

• far-fetchedness noun
• farfetchedness noun

Etymology

Origin of far-fetched

First recorded in 1575–85

Explanation

Something far-fetched is imaginative but very unlikely. It's a lot easier to think of than to do. Our brains can think of all sorts of ideas. Some are realistic, like going to the store or getting married. Others are far-fetched: A far-fetched idea or plan is implausible because there's very little chance it will happen. Flying to Jupiter is far-fetched. Marrying a movie star is a far-fetched idea, and so is becoming a movie star. Far-fetched things aren't necessarily impossible, but they're very unlikely. Children are especially good at coming up with far-fetched notions because of their powerful imaginations. Note that this word is sometimes unhyphenated as farfetched.

Example Sentences

Unless the war escalates again, even a tenuous ceasefire likely makes that still more far-fetched.

From Slate • Apr. 8, 2026

That, at this stage, seems far-fetched - but so did the idea of Hodgson reappearing on the touchline, until Friday's announcement by Bristol City.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

If you think that’s far-fetched, consider what Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl when the reporter asked him about Khamenei’s death.

From Salon • Mar. 3, 2026

A SpaceX-Tesla merger seems far-fetched, but so did a SpaceX-xAI merger.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

While the conspiracy theories were initially dismissed as far-fetched, if not downright loony, the word on the street turned out to be right, at least to a point.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander