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

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

Britain has become a member of an unenviable club. — Alexander Smith, NBC news, 23 June 2026

During the regular season, coming into the Spurs’ home floor was typically an unenviable endeavor – San Antonio won 32 of its 40 games at Frost Bank Center and never lost more than two consecutive games there. — Juan Carlos Blanco, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026

Up top, Liverpool face the unenviable task of replacing Mohamed Salah this summer. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 5 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unenviable

• friable
• agreeable
• foreseeable
• disagreeable
• unforeseeable