unwinnable
adjective
un·win·na·ble
ˌən-ˈwi-nə-bəl 
: incapable of being won
an unwinnable struggle
Examples of unwinnable in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
After the deaths of thousands of Russian soldiers and an avalanche of failures since the invasion began Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin has narrowed his objectives in a campaign viewed as unsustainable, unrealistic — and probably unwinnable.
—
Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 22 May 2022
Sullivan: The latest Red Sox tailspin shows management was never serious about building a playoff contender
The blame lies with a front office that gave Cora an unwinnable hand in a game the Sox had to win.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2023
Our win should be a lesson to anyone who writes off some states as not worth fighting for—or deems some issues too tough or complex and thus, unwinnable.
—Time, 17 Nov. 2022
On paper, the new map made the district unwinnable in 2022, since Donald Trump had carried it by 8 percentage points in 2020.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 9 Feb. 2023
If Murray misses extensive time, Arizona will no doubt find itself in unwinnable scenarios with Colt McCoy trying to compensate for a woefully undermanned defense.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 21 June 2023
Sometimes, fielding a candidate in an unwinnable race is not even about the candidate at all.
—Rafi Schwartz, The Week, 12 June 2023
Throughout the Cold War, Russia and the United States both knew that a nuclear war was unwinnable—an attack by one would surely produce a cataclysmic riposte by the other.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 3 May 2023
On February 17, amid frenetic but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron put an end to an unwinnable conflict in a different part of the world.
—Stephen Smith, Foreign Affairs, 10 Mar. 2022
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Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 22 May 2022
Sullivan: The latest Red Sox tailspin shows management was never serious about building a playoff contender
The blame lies with a front office that gave Cora an unwinnable hand in a game the Sox had to win.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 1 Sep. 2023
Our win should be a lesson to anyone who writes off some states as not worth fighting for—or deems some issues too tough or complex and thus, unwinnable.
—Time, 17 Nov. 2022
On paper, the new map made the district unwinnable in 2022, since Donald Trump had carried it by 8 percentage points in 2020.
—Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 9 Feb. 2023
If Murray misses extensive time, Arizona will no doubt find itself in unwinnable scenarios with Colt McCoy trying to compensate for a woefully undermanned defense.
—Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 21 June 2023
Sometimes, fielding a candidate in an unwinnable race is not even about the candidate at all.
—Rafi Schwartz, The Week, 12 June 2023
Throughout the Cold War, Russia and the United States both knew that a nuclear war was unwinnable—an attack by one would surely produce a cataclysmic riposte by the other.
—Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 3 May 2023
On February 17, amid frenetic but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to prevent Russia from attacking Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron put an end to an unwinnable conflict in a different part of the world.
—Stephen Smith, Foreign Affairs, 10 Mar. 2022
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unwinnable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1540, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near unwinnable
Cite this Entry
“Unwinnable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unwinnable. Accessed 27 Sep. 2023.
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