impractical

adjective

im·​prac·​ti·​cal (ˌ)im-ˈprak-ti-kəl 

: not practical: such as

a

: not wise to put into or keep in practice or effect

Small cars are impractical for large families.

b

: incapable of dealing sensibly or prudently with practical matters

a dreamy and impractical young man

c

: impracticable

an impractical plan

d

: not having a realistic or practical basis : idealistic

an impractical pipe dream

impracticality

(ˌ)im-ˌprak-ti-ˈka-lə-tē 

noun

impractically

(ˌ)im-ˈprak-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of impractical

• useless
• unsuitable
• unusable

Examples of impractical in a Sentence

Little sports cars are impractical for large families.

He was a dreamy and impractical young man.

Recent Examples on the Web

Direct transmission becomes increasingly impractical beyond that point. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2026

Most multi-institutional registries, most claims databases at scale and most cross-institutional research datasets were often difficult or impractical to use in regulatory submissions at scale. — David Talby, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Coating an entire spacecraft with a meaningfully thick layer of radiation shielding remains impractical due to weight constraints, but wrapping astronauts in protective garments may potentially be helpful. — Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2026

More impractical, individual vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella do not exist in the US. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 11 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1865, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for impractical

• syntactical
• unpractical
• practical
• tactical

Kids Definition

impractical

adjective

im·​prac·​ti·​cal (ˈ)im-ˈprak-ti-kəl 

: not practical: as

a

: not wise to put into or keep in practice or effect

an impractical rule disliked by many

b

: incapable of dealing sensibly with practical matters

c

: impracticable

the new gadgets were complicated and impractical

impracticality

(ˌ)im-ˌprak-ti-ˈkal-ət-ē 

noun

impractically

(ˈ)im-ˈprak-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb