impracticable

Everyday

1. Impossible to do or carry out in practice, even if it sounds good. tree →
2. (of a road or path) Impossible to use or travel on: the road was impracticable after the flood. tree →

In the lessons

Used in formal writing, reports and history about plans that cannot be carried out because of cost, time, danger or difficulty. Phrases: an impracticable plan, prove impracticable, impracticable in practice.

Examples

• The plan to build a tunnel to the island proved impracticable. tree →
• Walking across the desert in a day is impracticable. tree →
• The flooded road was impracticable for cars. tree →
• The idea was clever but impracticable. tree →
• It was impracticable to count every grain of sand. tree →
• Carrying all the books home at once was impracticable, so we took two trips. tree →

Note

Trap: «impracticable» = cannot be done; «impractical» = could be done but not sensible or useful (high heels for hiking are impractical). Many people mix them up. Formal word.