undrinkable

adjective

un·​drink·​able ˌən-ˈdriŋ-kə-bəl How to pronounce undrinkable (audio)
: unsuitable or unpleasant to drink

Examples of undrinkable in a Sentence

The water was undrinkable and had to be boiled.
Recent Examples on the Web There were about 12,000 gallons of Pinot Noir that the winery deemed to be undrinkable because of smoke taint, and fortunately Sardell was able to distill it into brandy that the winemaking team fell in love with. Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 29 Jan. 2024 Last fall, government officials declared a state of emergency after water in the capital was deemed undrinkable and potentially tainted with petroleum. Rob Gillies and David Crary, Anchorage Daily News, 28 July 2022 Based on projections from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, salt could make the water undrinkable until at least January, said Collin Arnold, New Orleans' homeland security chief, per NOLA.com. David Chiu, Peoplemag, 29 Sep. 2023 The Impact: Torrential rains that flooded the Pearl River near Jackson, Mississippi, in August 2022 overwhelmed the city’s water treatment plant, rendering tap water undrinkable and leaving 170,000 people without running water. Krista Langlois, Outside Online, 10 Mar. 2023 Rising sea level and California’s whiplash weather have been impacting their water table, with seawater seeping in and causing pipes to corrode, making water undrinkable. Rachel Ramirez, CNN, 2 Sep. 2023 Reporter Daniella Silva talked exclusively to asylum-seekers about the undrinkable water, constant threat of solitary confinement and limited access to doctors that make living there unbearable and dangerous. Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 18 July 2023 Salt in the drinking water Montevideo’s tap water is basically undrinkable, said Carlos Santos, a member of the National Commission for the Defense of Water and Life (CNDAV) and a lecturer in anthropology at the University of the Republic in Uruguay. Jack Guy, CNN, 25 June 2023 The park’s undrinkable water and raw sewage leaks posed a hazard to residents’ health and well-being, the judge wrote. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 8 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'undrinkable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of undrinkable was in 1611

Dictionary Entries Near undrinkable

Cite this Entry

“Undrinkable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undrinkable. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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