impractical

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *né
Proto-Indo-European *n̥-
Proto-Italic *n̥-
Latin in-bor.
Middle English in-
English im-
English practical
English impractical

    From im- + practical.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɹæktɪkəl/
    • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Audio (US):(file)

    Adjective

    impractical (comparative more impractical, superlative most impractical)

    1. Not practical; impracticable.
      Antonym: practical
      • 1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan of the Apes:
        "I can't leave you here alone with these cutthroats, and you certainly can't venture into the jungle with me; yet someone must go in search of your father. He is more than apt to wandering off aimlessly, regardless of danger or direction, and Mr. Philander is only a trifle less impractical than he. ...
      • 2025 August 5, PlaguePJP, J Dune, “SCP-2003”, in SCP Wiki‎[1], archived from the original on 29 July 2026:
        As traditional exploration of Centralia’s underground is exceedingly impractical and excessively dangerous, the Foundation has chosen to visually document the mine through remote observation.

    Usage notes

    • Said of people, theories, philosophies, etc.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    This page is issued from Wiktionary. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.