unplayable

adjective

un·​play·​able ˌən-ˈplā-ə-bəl 

: not capable of being played or suitable to be played : not playable

a golf course rendered unplayable by heavy rains

dealt an unplayable card

music so complex as to be almost unplayable

Service is my strong point at tennis. I am inaccurate, but vigorous, and occasionally send in a quite unplayable shot.

—P. G. Wodehouse

found the ball in an unplayable lie [=a position that does not allow a shot to be made]

Examples of unplayable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Towns and Brunson were nearly unplayable together in the conference finals against a Pacers team that targeted one of New York’s two stars with regularity. —Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 7 June 2025

Porzingis, who will be on a $30.7 million expiring contract, has missed 65 regular-season games over his two Celtics seasons and was rendered borderline unplayable by a mysterious viral illness this postseason. —Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 18 May 2025

The Cavaliers can’t have Isaac Okoro soaking up $11 million and being mostly unplayable in the postseason. —John Hollinger, New York Times, 13 May 2025

Gobert was unplayable for parts of the series against the Lakers, and was sometimes benched late in games. —Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 4 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unplayable

• payable
• playable
• repayable