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
P. G. Wodehousefound the ball in an unplayable lie [=a position that does not allow a shot to be made]
Examples of unplayable in a Sentence
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Renovation work is expected to leave training pitches unplayable until the start of next week at the earliest, a point when the first-team squad will begin a week St George’s Park, the training home of the England national teams.
—Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 1 July 2025
That sparked a several-minute search party, highlighted by Lee’s maneuvering through the trees as NBC’s cameras watched before both decided to take an unplayable lie.
—Brody Miller, The Athletic, 16 Mar. 2025
Unfortunately, even with access to beefier hardware, the game's still unplayable, with constant freezes and hard crashes.
—Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 5 June 2025
His forehand was borderline unplayable on hotter days, clearing his victims’ shoulders.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 31 May 2025
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Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 1 July 2025
That sparked a several-minute search party, highlighted by Lee’s maneuvering through the trees as NBC’s cameras watched before both decided to take an unplayable lie.
—Brody Miller, The Athletic, 16 Mar. 2025
Unfortunately, even with access to beefier hardware, the game's still unplayable, with constant freezes and hard crashes.
—Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 5 June 2025
His forehand was borderline unplayable on hotter days, clearing his victims’ shoulders.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 31 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for unplayable
Cite this Entry
“Unplayable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unplayable. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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