unenviable

adjective

un·​en·​vi·​able ˌən-ˈen-vē-ə-bəl How to pronounce unenviable (audio)
: 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
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Governments remain in an unenviable position regarding strong encryption. Richard Forno, The Conversation, 16 May 2025 Gerard Martin – 7/10 Filling Balde’s shoes is an unenviable task — few full-backs in Europe possess his attacking skill set. Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 16 May 2025 Henningsen has the unenviable task of playing Nick's new girlfriend, Ginny, a millennial in a sea of Gen-Xers. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 3 May 2025 The size of the budget gap backed lawmakers into a corner, giving them the unenviable task of cutting their way out. Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 11 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for unenviable

Word History

First Known Use

1641, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unenviable was in 1641

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Cite this Entry

“Unenviable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unenviable. Accessed 24 May. 2025.

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