unsustainable

[uhn-suh-stey-nuh-buhl]

adjective

1. not sustainable; not to be supported, maintained, upheld, or corroborated.

Other Word Forms

• unsustainably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of unsustainable¹

1670–80; un- ¹ + sustainable ( def. )

Example Sentences

It keeps open the pipeline of accomplished young scientists without whom U.S. distinction in science would be unsustainable.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Fiscal profligacy and unsustainable debt-to-GDP ratios undermine democracy by threatening confidence in currencies and capital markets.

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“Even new clients are asking for a ridiculous amount of tea. It’s completely unsustainable.”

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Analysts at Renaissance Macro Research seem to believe the metal has entered a “zone of unsustainable advance,” and that there is likely to be a reversal in the near future, Nate reports.

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“Gold has entered a zone of unsustainable advance,” wrote analysts at Renaissance Macro Research in a weekend note, adding that the bull run has made it more difficult to gauge when to take profits.

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Related Words

• unsuitable 
• untenable