untenable

adjective

un·ten·a·ble ˌən-ˈte-nə-bəl

Synonyms of untenable next

: not able to be defended

an untenable position

: not able to be occupied

untenable apartments

untenability

ˌən-ˌte-nə-ˈbi-lə-tē

noun

Did you know?

Untenable and its opposite tenable come to us from the Old French verb tenir ("to hold, have possession of"), and ultimately from the Latin verb tenēre ("to hold, occupy, possess"). We tend to use untenable in situations where an idea or position is so off base that holding onto it is unjustified or inexcusable. One way to hold onto the meaning of untenable is to associate it with other tenēre descendants whose meanings are associated with "holding" or "holding onto." Tenacious ("holding fast") is one example. Others are contain, detain, sustain, maintain, and retain. Spanish speakers may also recognize tenēre as a predecessor of the commonplace verb tener, which retains the meaning of "to hold or possess."

Examples of untenable in a Sentence

The Agriculture Department is in an untenable position. With the two hats that it wears—one to protect consumer health and the other to help farmers sell food—it cannot tell us to eat fewer calories. After all, fewer calories generally mean less food, which would fly in the face of the department's mandate to help farmers. —

Marian Burros, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2002

But scholars are citizens, too, and if it is wrongheaded to demand political payoff from basic research, it would be equally untenable to demand that research be quarantined from the real-world considerations that weigh so heavily upon us. —

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New York Times, 4 Apr. 1998

All the theories of the Moon's origin proposed before the Apollo Moon landings of 1969 … became untenable when the rocks returned from the Moon proved to be as old as the Earth and significantly dissimilar. —

Physics Today, January 1997

The problem was then resolved—not by finding that the conduct in question was justified, because that would have offended the judge's sense of order, and not by rejecting the applicability of the defense, which would have led to a reportable opinion and an appeal—but through a dismissal of the charges on the wholly untenable ground that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. —

Edward N. Costikyan, New York Times Book Review, 13 Mar. 1988

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

That was partially a financial move, done to get off Poole’s contract after a poor season, but it was also done to split an untenable locker room situation. —

Anthony Slater, The Athletic, 23 Jan. 2025 As the player’s on-field performances decline, things become untenable. —

John Hopewell, Variety, 20 Jan. 2025 As in Ukraine, Biden made the fateful decision to cling to war aims that had become untenable, even as pointless civilian suffering escalated and the political upside of his posture vanished. —

Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025 This lack of collaboration is untenable in the current reality where the sea of fast-moving, stealth attackers threatens to overwhelm the dike entirely. —

Jonathan Fischbein, Forbes, 14 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for untenable