impractical

adjective

im·​prac·​ti·​cal (ˌ)im-ˈprak-ti-kəl How to pronounce impractical (audio)
: not practical: such as
a
: not wise to put into or keep in practice or effect
b
: incapable of dealing sensibly or prudently with practical matters
impracticality noun
impractically adverb

Examples of impractical in a Sentence

Little sports cars are impractical for large families. He was a dreamy and impractical young man.
Recent Examples on the Web But aid groups say replacing the agency is impractical in the short or medium term. Claire Parker, Washington Post, 3 Mar. 2024 Other alternatives — repairing the rails, widening the bridge, improving alignment — have been reviewed but dismissed by the Caltrans as impractical or ineffective. Lisa M. Krieger, The Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2024 Gentrification’s opponents are easily demonized as impractical people unable to accept change and the realities of the market. Frank Shyong, Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2023 For humans, handling large volumes of data manually is impractical and tedious. Ranjan Parthasarathy, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The district did not respond to requests for comment during the holiday break. Teens, advocates: Bans are impractical, unfair Schools in the nation’s capital lack a universal rule on access to cellphones, according to the school district. USA TODAY, 3 Jan. 2024 Considering her penchant for the wild and impractical, Julia Fox has to work hard to keep surprising fashion voyeurs with her outlandish street style. Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 12 Feb. 2024 They’d been sold in pre-assembled kits that would have been impractical to repackage. Lori Rozsa, Washington Post, 10 Feb. 2024 These would need to be acceptable to the tech industry while also being expensive and impractical for a foreign adversary with advanced chipmaking gear to bypass. Will Knight, WIRED, 25 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impractical.' 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

1865, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of impractical was in 1865

Dictionary Entries Near impractical

Cite this Entry

“Impractical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impractical. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

impractical

adjective
im·​prac·​ti·​cal (ˈ)im-ˈprak-ti-kəl How to pronounce impractical (audio)
: not practical: as
a
: not wise to put into or keep in practice or effect
an impractical rule disliked by many
b
: incapable of dealing sensibly with practical matters
c
: impracticable
the new gadgets were complicated and impractical
impracticality noun
impractically adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on impractical

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