unattainable

English

Etymology

From un- +‎ attain +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌʌnəˈteɪnəbəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˌɐnəˈtæɪnəbəl/
• Hyphenation: un‧at‧tain‧a‧ble

Adjective

unattainable (comparative more unattainable, superlative most unattainable)

1. Impossible to attain or reach; unable to accomplish

   Synonyms: inaccessible, unobtainable, unapproachable

   Antonym: attainable

   • 1974, The Chesterton Review, page 262:

     Efficiency for the sake of efficiency, unchallenged authority conferred upon those who know well a few things and ignore everything else, disdain for the ordinary and humble elements that introduce happiness in our lives, worship of unattainable utopiae, are some of the features of the scheme which leads inevitably to the suppression of the eternal gifts bestowed by God upon every human person and to the frightful prospect of being ruled by what he vividly names “the Empire of the Insect.”

Translations

impossible to attain

Bulgarian: недостижим (bg) (nedostižim) Chinese: Mandarin: 高不可攀的, 不可企及的 Czech: nedosažitelný m, nedostupný Danish: uopnåelig Dutch: onbereikbaar (nl) Finnish: saavuttamaton French: inatteignable (fr) German: unerreichbar (de), nicht machbar Greek: ανέφικτος (el) (anéfiktos) Italian: inattingibile Latin: inaccessus Manx: gyn roshtyn, neuroshtynagh Norwegian: Bokmål: uoppnåelig Nynorsk: uoppnåeleg Polish: niedosięgły, niedosiężny (pl), nieosiągalny (pl) Portuguese: inatingível, inalcançável (pt) Russian: недостижи́мый (ru) (nedostižímyj), недоступный (ru) (nedostupnyj) Spanish: inconseguible Swedish: ouppnåelig (sv)

Noun

unattainable (plural unattainables)

1. Anything that cannot be attained.