as in misleading
formal
not capable of being defended against attack or criticism; not tenable
an untenable argument The theory is untenable.
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Recent Examples of untenable
Twin Rivers Unified School District teachers returned to their classrooms Monday, ending the union’s first-ever strike, a 12-day walkout motivated by what teachers described as untenable health care costs and unmanageable class sizes.
—
Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026
Disrupting airports by tethering the pay of airport security screeners to the tumult of Washington politics is untenable.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 22 Mar. 2026
The friend group quickly realized sleeping on the ground outside was untenable.
—Storey Wertheimer, NBC news, 20 Mar. 2026
For one, there’s a massive time commitment involved with being on The Bachelorette that feels untenable for anyone with children.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for untenable
Sacbee.com, 23 Mar. 2026
Disrupting airports by tethering the pay of airport security screeners to the tumult of Washington politics is untenable.
—The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 22 Mar. 2026
The friend group quickly realized sleeping on the ground outside was untenable.
—Storey Wertheimer, NBC news, 20 Mar. 2026
For one, there’s a massive time commitment involved with being on The Bachelorette that feels untenable for anyone with children.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 19 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for untenable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for untenable
Adjective
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Winds high above Saturn were generating electrical currents, creating a misleading auroral signal that mimicked changes in rotation.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Mar. 2026
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Parts of the ballot language backing a tax on second homes in San Diego are misleading and must be amended, a judge ruled Thursday.—
Roxana Popescu,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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An atmospheric river should track across California, even into southern California, by Tuesday, March 31, but is currently forecast to remain too weak to cause flooding issues, the WPC said.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
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At the hospital in Dollow, mothers sat shoulder to shoulder on narrow beds holding frail children, some too weak to cry while others let out soft whimpers.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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There’s something both early American and midcentury modern in the design of these solid-oak vanities, which arrived just as everyone seems to have gotten over an irrational fear of brown furniture.—
Nicole Hoey,
Robb Report,
31 Mar. 2026
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The answer turned out to be four more years of sacrifice, struggle, and hope that must have felt, at times, completely irrational.—
Sharon McMahon,
Glamour,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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As in Williams’ case, attorneys argued that a sweep had violated the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment rights protecting them from unreasonable search and seizure, as well as their 14th Amendment right to due process.—
Ariane Lange,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
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Because that is ultimately what The Secret Garden is about—the stubborn, almost unreasonable insistence of living things to grow toward the light.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Untenable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/untenable. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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