unacceptable

adjective

un·​ac·​cept·​able ˌən-ik-ˈsep-tə-bəl 

-ak-

: not acceptable : not pleasing or welcome

unacceptability

ˌən-ik-ˌsep-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

unacceptably

ˌən-ik-ˈsep-tə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• bad
• bastard
• bush
• bush-league
• crummy
• crumby
• deficient
• dissatisfactory
• ill
• inferior
• lame
• lousy
• off
• paltry
• poor
• punk
• sour
• suboptimal
• subpar
• substandard
• unsatisfactory
• wack [slang]
• wanting
• wretched
• wrong

Examples of unacceptable in a Sentence

a word that is unacceptable in formal English

Some of her ideas were unacceptable to other people.

Recent Examples on the Web

And there's a lengthy list of unacceptable offenses that can get people ejected or even banned from venues. —Felecia Wellington Radel, USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2024

Common among those individuals worthy of the exalted appellation is a temptation to vacate, in view of unacceptable compromise, the industry’s fraught financial space. —Jeff Gibson, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024

Zelenskyy expressed concern over potential pressure on Ukraine should Donald Trump win the presidency, stating that any attempt to force it to surrender its territories would be unacceptable. —Katya Soldak, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

These firms' opacity in the face of human suffering and clear risk of violations of international law indicates an unacceptable sense of impunity. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

unacceptable

adjective

un·​ac·​cept·​able ˌən-ik-ˈsep-tə-bəl 

-ak-

: not acceptable : not pleasing or welcome

unacceptably

-blē 

adverb