impracticable

(im prakti kə bəl)

adjective

  1. not capable of being carried out in practice: an impracticable plan
  2. not capable of being used: an impracticable road
  3. Now Rare not capable of being managed or dealt with; intractable: an impracticable person

Origin: < in- + practicable

See impracticable in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective
  1. Impossible to do or carry out: Refloating the sunken ship intact proved impracticable because of its fragility.
  2. Unfit for passage: roads impracticable in winter.
  3. Archaic Unmanageable; intractable.

Related Forms:

  • im·pracˌti·ca·bilˈi·ty, im·pracˈti·ca·ble·ness noun
  • im·pracˈti·ca·bly adverb
Usage Note: The adjective impracticable applies to a course of action that is impossible to carry out or put into practice; impractical, though it can be used in this way, also can be weaker in sense, suggesting that the course of action would yield an insufficient return or would have little practical value. A plan for a new stadium may be rejected as impracticable if the site is too marshy to permit safe construction, but if the objection is that the site is too remote for patrons to attend games easily, the plan is better described as impractical. See Usage Note at practicable.

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