unenviable

adjective un·en·vi·able \ ˌən-ˈen-vē-ə-bəl \

Definition of unenviable

: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

See unenviable defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of unenviable from the Web

They are charged with the often unenviable task of going after people in power.

— yashar ali, The Cut, "Off With Her Head," 27 Aug. 2017
This forced the United States into the unenviable position of either instigating a massive war with horrific casualties or surrendering its credibility.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Ignore Our Crazy President, U.S. Government Tells North Korea," 9 Aug. 2017
While Brown will be tasked with taking over for Adams at tackle, along with Andrew Williams, Holland has the unenviable task of creating pass rush off the edge at Buck in the way Lawson did a year ago.

— james crepea, AL.com, "What Auburn expects from defensive linemen Marlon Davidson, Jeff Holland, Derrick Brown," 17 July 2017
That leaves the state in the unenviable position of either forcing the racetrack casinos to comply or siding with the racetracks and potentially causing the tribe to stop paying the state its share of revenues taken at tribal casinos.

— dan sweeney, Sun-Sentinel.com, "The coming war on orange juice," 7 July 2017
Lithuania holds the unenviable crown of Europe’s heaviest drinkers, downing 3.2 alcoholic drinks per day, or 18.2 liters of pure alcohol per person per year.

— chris stokel-walker, Bloomberg.com, "Europeans Are Drinking Themselves to Death," 3 July 2017
Now, coming back from a nine-run second-inning deficit is an unenviable task.

— eduardo a. encina, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles have plenty of cause for concern after worst loss of season," 11 June 2017
That leaves Fletcher with the unenviable task of getting the Wild over the hump of first- and second-round playoff appearances without the benefit of high draft picks.

— chad graff, Twin Cities, "Predators used trades to reach finals. Can the Wild do the same?," 1 June 2017
But Darvish is an unenviable opponent for any lineup.

— matt gelb, Philly.com, "Phillies can't solve Yu Darvish in 5-1 loss to Rangers," 16 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unenviable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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