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

When Uefa devised this system, it believed the idea of 11 teams from one country qualifying for Europe was so far-fetched as to be barely worth mentioning.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

His research presented the models with increasingly far-fetched variations of a simple text, asking them to rate sentences out of 10 for literary quality.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

She sounds already disappointed on their behalf, tired of artists whose far-fetched plans never quite materialize.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026

“More far-fetched than a lizard as big as a horse cart?”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss