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

Other models, like Dive-LD and Dive-XL, are used to map the seafloor and perform missions that are too dangerous or impractical for human divers. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026

The alternatives to dealing with this problem would be redesigning airports (impractical and expensive) or restricting flight schedules (really expensive), so Airbus wants to make the new wings foldable. — David Szondy august 04, New Atlas, 4 Aug. 2026

These systems could enable scientists to explore new computing algorithms that are currently impractical to simulate using conventional hardware. — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 Aug. 2026

For reasons both practical and impractical, OpenAI's macro pad experiment is already a success, having sold out immediately. — Brian Westover, PC Magazine, 3 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