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

Etymology

Origin of impracticable

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

Example Sentences

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

"It may be impracticable that our distinctively American experiment of individual freedom should go on."

From Salon • Oct. 29, 2023

FTX could owe money to more than 1 million people, making it "impracticable" to contact each, the papers said.

From Reuters • Jan. 6, 2023

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