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

The stagflation parallel of the 1970s isn’t as far-fetched as it was two years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 28, 2026

On the surface, the idea that even two companies believed these incidents involved actual bears may seem far-fetched, but experts say there’s reasons a claim like this could slip through the cracks.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

But this narrative is not as far-fetched as it otherwise might appear.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026

On Thursday the prime minister said it was "a little bit far-fetched" to believe McSweeney could have faked the theft of his phone.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

I guess those kind of things are make-believe until they happen to you, and then it don’t seem so far-fetched.

From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick