unworkable
adjective
- unable to be made to function
Wiktionary
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom Proto-Germanic *werką Proto-West Germanic *werk Old English weorc Middle English werk English work Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English workable English unworkable From un- + workable.
- Not workable.
“Near-synonyms: infeasible, untenable, unusable”
“These plans seem unworkable; moreover, a budget for their implementation remains a fantasy.”
- Not workable.
“Near-synonyms: unprocessable, unusable”
“unworkable soils; unworkable clays; unworkable metals”
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom Proto-Germanic *werką Proto-West Germanic *werk Old English weorc Middle English werk English work Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English workable English unworkable From un- + workable.
- Something that is not workable, or cannot be made to work.
“The building of the consensus group, however, forced these interests to distinguish annoying features of the law from unworkable ones, and the list of the unworkables steadily dwindled.”
“We all have some secret little hope that the unworkables will be resurrected. You haven't seen any of the occupants of the pyramids pull this off yet, nor will you see any use for old, outdated, dead office stuff.”