untenable
adjective
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Untenable and its opposite tenable come to us from Old French tenir ("to hold, have possession of") and ultimately from Latin 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.
Examples of untenable in a Sentence
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
NBC News, 24 Mar. 2024
Retirement, too, has begun to feel untenable for many younger generations.
—Chloe Berger, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024
Working full-time as Estée Lauder’s director of global creative operations for skin care while training to make the Olympic team seemed untenable.
—Sean Gregory, TIME, 5 Mar. 2024
But now, some of those enthusiasts believe the Hackintosh dream is becoming more and more untenable.
—Chris Welch, The Verge, 19 Mar. 2024
Most Israelis agree that the situation is untenable.
—Mick Krever, CNN, 8 Mar. 2024
Eventually, however, terrorist attacks launched by the Palestine Liberation Organization and an uprising of the Palestinian people against Israeli occupation in the 1980s forced Israel to come to terms with the fact that the situation had become untenable.
—Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
The fact is many of the kids on these shows are put in the untenable position of becoming the breadwinner for their family and the pressure that comes along with that.
—Christine Pelisek, Peoplemag, 11 Feb. 2024
In addition to the possibility of danger, working amid the current chaos had become untenable, with shops running out of food and only intermittent electricity and communications, the source added.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'untenable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near untenable
Cite this Entry
“Untenable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/untenable. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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untenable
adjective
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