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.
Unsustainable options are often cheaper, more visible and more available than sustainable ones.
From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2023
Unsustainable practices have also risen, including longlines that ensnare marine mammals or seabirds.
From Reuters • Sep. 14, 2023
Unsustainable debt, a severe balance of payment crisis on top of lingering scars of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a severe shortage of essentials such as fuel, medicine and food.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 28, 2023
"Unsustainable trade is a big problem," he told BBC News.
From BBC • Nov. 25, 2022
Wednesday marked the first day of a two-day House Oversight Committee hearing titled "Unsustainable Drug Prices: Testimony from the CEOs."
From Salon • Oct. 4, 2020
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.
