unenviable

adjective

un·​en·​vi·​able ˌən-ˈen-vē-ə-bəl 

: not desirable or pleasant : not arousing envy : not enviable

an unenviable position

Kent Alterman, our director, had the unenviable task of herding cats.

—Will Ferrell

Examples of unenviable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sharma’s unenviable job is to trim the fat before this whole thing blows up. — Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026

Two of the band’s shows in Fort Worth, scheduled for June 30 and July 2, are now occurring on July 11 and July 13, respectively, as Lee has contracted the unenviable combination of laryngitis and bronchitis. — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 1 July 2026

Austria advances out of the group stage for the first time since 1982 — but as the Group J runner-up gets the unenviable task of meeting powerful Spain in its next game. — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 27 June 2026

The Luc Robitaille era has now spanned nine seasons, six head coaches and two GMs while producing zero playoff series victories, placing the Kings in an unenviable position to have a less-than-robust pipeline feeding an aging, mediocre roster. — Andrew Knoll, Daily News, 25 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unenviable

• friable
• agreeable
• foreseeable
• disagreeable
• unforeseeable