unpracticeableadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈpraktɪsəbl/, U.S. /ˌənˈpræktəsəb(ə)l/ rare after 17th cent.
That cannot be practised or effected in practice; impracticable. Also: that should not be practised. Cf. unpracticable adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > practical impossibility > [adjective]
impossible1340
unfeasible1527
infeasible1533
unablec1540
unperformable1583
unpracticeable1588
unfeasable1628
uneffectible1646
unpracticable1650
unoperable1652
unaccomplishable1675
imprestable1683
imperformable1693
impracticable1696
unexecutable1794
ineffectible1806
inexecutable1833
unworkable1839
impractical1865
undoable1865
impos.1924
1588 E. Aggas tr. F. de La Noue Politicke & Mil. Disc. 401 An action which I take in these daies to be vnpractiseable [Fr. impratiquable].
c1594 in J. O. Halliwell Coll. Lett. Progress Sci. in Eng. (1841) 36 Converted to sundrie other uses..which have hetherto byn supposed to be unpractyzable.
1644 G. Plattes in S. Hartlib Legacy (1655) 295 It is neither unpossible, strange, nor unpracticeable.
1657 R. Lawrence Gospel-separation 96 A..person of no setledness in judgment, that is filled with notions of unpractiseable things.
1822 J. M. Blanco y Crespo Vargas II. xvi. 170 Nothing but devilish devices and unpractiseable arts, could possibly have given them the power to fool away a man's brains as they do.
2004 Washington Times (Nexis) 17 Mar. a4 Conservative opponents said the plan was an amnesty program... Liberal opponents saw it as unpracticeable.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
adj.1588