unsustainable
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unsustainable
1670–80; un- 1 + sustainable ( def. )
Explanation
If something is unsustainable, there's just no way to keep doing it at the same rate or in the same way. You've been able to keep your new puppy from whining by petting her all night long, but that's unsustainable. When you can bear something, or continue it, it's sustainable, from the Latin root sustinere, "bear or endure." Unsustainable things can't go on, like unsustainable economic growth that's bound to level out or drop eventually, or an unsustainable expectation that you will always have a perfect grade point average. When it comes to the environment, practices that cause long-term harm or deplete resources are also unsustainable: "Ending unsustainable fishing practices successfully revived the salmon population."
Vocabulary lists containing unsustainable
Power Prefix: un-
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Organisms and Environments 1: The Environment
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myPerspectives 7.4
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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.
The Glasgow-based company has cut the number of performances of its winter production to 17 in December, citing the "unsustainable economics of touring to Edinburgh".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
He's been losing about £40 for each animal he sells, meaning his weekly loss is around £10,000 which he describes as unsustainable.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
In each case, a low price-to-earnings ratio disguised an unsustainable uptick in profits.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
After decades of eating too much unhealthy food, the average middle-aged American is living with multiple chronic conditions and paying unsustainable healthcare costs to receive sick care.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Thus language-games do not simply succeed, progress, pay, or prove their worth; they can also become unsustainable if the facts change.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
