impracticable

American  

[im-prak-ti-kuh-buhl] / ɪmˈpræk tɪ kə bəl /

adjective

1. not practicable; incapable of being put into practice with the available means.

   an impracticable plan.

2. unsuitable for practical use or purposes, as a device or material.

3. (of ground, places, etc.) impassable.

4. (of persons) hard to deal with because of stubbornness, stupidity, etc.

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impracticable British  

/ ɪmˈpræktɪkəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being put into practice or accomplished; not feasible

2. unsuitable for a desired use; unfit

3. an archaic word for intractable

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Other Word Forms

• impracticability
  noun
• impracticableness
  noun
• impracticably
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of impracticable

First recorded in 1645–55; im- ² + practicable

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

impracticable

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 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

Although it may seem impracticable, a renegotiation will look more appealing in the decades ahead of us, more so, I suspect, in the face of genuine hardship.

From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2024

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a stickler for legible rules, sounded borderline aghast at this baggy, boundless standard; she lobbed a series of hypotheticals at Aguiñaga that showed he was pushing a meaningless and impracticable test.

From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2024

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

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