unattainable
Britishadjective
Explanation
Something unattainable is out of reach — you can't attain it or achieve it. Unfortunately, a lot of things in life are unattainable. For most of us, making a billion dollars is unattainable. Marrying a famous movie star is probably also unattainable. Flying to the moon in a private space yacht is totally unattainable. If something is unattainable, then you just can't get it. In life, it's not always easy to see what's unattainable and what's attainable, which can cause a lot of frustration.
Vocabulary lists containing unattainable
Power Prefix: un-
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "U"
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: un-
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mortensen, 30, and her partner are part of a generation of 20-, 30- and even 40-somethings who increasingly view homeownership as unattainable.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
It would feel disingenuous to make art that’s unattainable to the very community who inspires it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Gen Z feels prices are high and housing unattainable.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
Two years into his government, and growing increasingly frustrated with what he said were the central bank’s unattainable inflation targets, he abruptly reset inflation targets during a press conference in December 2017.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
To see at last that contentment and beauty were not unattainable things.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
