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

All of sudden fish and chips on the River Thames in London or a boat trip down the Seine don’t seem too far-fetched.

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

But the idea that the entire world could latch onto something together feels too far-fetched in our own current fractured news environment.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026

It's led the internet, pop-culture enthusiasts and Swifties alike working to fill the blank space, with speculation ranging from possible to far-fetched.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2026

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

It is not so far-fetched to suggest that, without his link to the Nazis, most people who were not hardcore opera lovers would by now have lost interest in Wagner.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall