untenable

adjective

un·​ten·​a·​ble ˌən-ˈte-nə-bəl 

1

: not able to be defended

an untenable position

2

: not able to be occupied

untenable apartments

untenability

ˌən-ˌte-nə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

Did you know?

Untenable and its opposite tenable come to us from Old French tenir ("to hold, have possession of") and ultimately from Latin tenēre ("to hold, occupy, possess"). We tend to use untenable in situations where an idea or position is so off base that holding onto it is unjustified or inexcusable. One way to hold onto the meaning of untenable is to associate it with other tenēre descendants whose meanings are associated with "holding" or "holding onto." Tenacious ("holding fast") is one example. Others are contain, detain, sustain, maintain, and retain.

Examples of untenable in a Sentence

The Agriculture Department is in an untenable position. With the two hats that it wears—one to protect consumer health and the other to help farmers sell food—it cannot tell us to eat fewer calories. After all, fewer calories generally mean less food, which would fly in the face of the department's mandate to help farmers. —Marian Burros, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2002

But scholars are citizens, too, and if it is wrongheaded to demand political payoff from basic research, it would be equally untenable to demand that research be quarantined from the real-world considerations that weigh so heavily upon us. —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., New York Times, 4 Apr. 1998

All the theories of the Moon's origin proposed before the Apollo Moon landings of 1969 … became untenable when the rocks returned from the Moon proved to be as old as the Earth and significantly dissimilar. —Physics Today, January 1997

The problem was then resolved—not by finding that the conduct in question was justified, because that would have offended the judge's sense of order, and not by rejecting the applicability of the defense, which would have led to a reportable opinion and an appeal—but through a dismissal of the charges on the wholly untenable ground that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt. —Edward N. Costikyan, New York Times Book Review, 13 Mar. 1988

Recent Examples on the Web

When an outdoor pool location became untenable for the Havana Nights ball in Episode 4, Carlos transformed the Emerald Ballroom at L.A.’s Biltmore Hotel. —Valli Herman, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2024

If the West can help Ukraine’s defense industry get fully up to speed, Russia’s positions will grow untenable. —Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Foreign Affairs, 21 May 2024

University officials said Thursday the school still intends to host doctoral hooding ceremonies, special celebrations and some departmental activities, but recently enacted safety protocols implemented to manage campus unrest have made holding its primary May 10 commencement untenable. —Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2024

Any increase higher than that, tenant advocates warned, would be untenable. —Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

un- entry 1 + tenable

First Known Use

1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

untenable

adjective

un·​ten·​a·​ble ˌən-ˈten-ə-bəl 

1

: not able to be defended

an untenable position

2

: not able to be occupied

untenable apartments