indefensible

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Proto-Italic *n̥-

Latin in-bor.

Middle English in-

English in-

English defensible

English indefensible

From in- + defensible.

Adjective

indefensible (comparative more indefensible, superlative most indefensible)

1. Not defensible; not capable of being defended.

   Synonym: vulnerable

2. (figurative) Not capable of being justified or excused.

   Synonyms: inexcusable, unpardonable, untenable

   • 1953 April, “Arrears of Station Maintenance”, in Railway Magazine, page 217:

     Mr. Elliot's frank statement that "sloth and untidiness are indefensible" is a sign that the task will be tackled with vigour.

   • 2017 May 31, Todd Stern, “Leaving the Paris Agreement Would Be Indefensible”, in Jeffrey Goldberg, editor, The Atlantic‎^[1], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 September 2026:

     The president evidently intends to follow his own misguided calculus. A decision to withdraw would be indefensible. It is important to understand why and to consider what we need to do next.

   • 2023 October 12, Rajan Menon, “Killing civilians is indefensible, whether done by Hamas or Israel”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 October 2026:

     Killing civilians is indefensible, whether done by Hamas or Israel [title]

3. Incapable of being explained.

   Synonyms: untenable, insupportable, invalid

Antonyms

• defensible

Derived terms

• indefensibility
• indefensibleness
• indefensibly

Translations

not capable of being defended — see also undefendable

• Bulgarian: незащитен (bg) (nezaštiten), беззащитен (bg) (bezzaštiten)
• Catalan: indefensable
• Finnish: mahdoton puolustaa, puolustuskelvoton
• Greek: αδικαιολόγητος (el) (adikaiológitos)
• Polish: nie do obrony
• Romanian: neapărabil m, de neapărat, imposibil de apărat
• Spanish: indefendible, indefensible, indefensable
• Swedish: försvarslös (sv)

incapable of being justified — see also undefendable

• Bulgarian: непростим (bg) (neprostim)
• Catalan: indefensable
• Dutch: onverdedigbaar (nl)
• Finnish: mahdoton perustella, mahdoton puolustella
• French: indéfendable (fr)
• Galician: indefendible (gl)
• German: unvertretbar (de), unhaltbar (de)
• Greek: αδικαιολόγητος (el) (adikaiológitos)
• Italian: indifendibile (it)
• Polish: niewybaczalny (pl), nieuzasadniony (pl), niedopuszczalny (pl)
• Romanian: nefundamentat m, nejustificabil (ro), de neiertat
• Spanish: indefendible, indefensible, indefensable
• Swedish: oförsvarlig (sv)

See also

• undefendable

Spanish

Adjective

indefensible m or f (masculine and feminine plural indefensibles)

1. (uncommon) alternative form of indefendible

Further reading

• “indefensible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), 24th edition, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 30 October 2026