as in misleading
formal
not capable of being defended against attack or criticism; not tenable
an untenable argument The theory is untenable.
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Recent Examples of untenable
As word ricochetted around Washington last week that Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Justice was pulling his name amid untenable scrutiny of a dating life alleged to include minors, drugs, and cash, nowhere were the sighs of relief louder than from the DOJ staffers themselves.
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Philip Elliott, TIME, 25 Nov. 2024
If the tariffs are simply a negotiating tool, as some tariff proponents say, then universal tariffs are untenable.
—The Editors, National Review, 27 Nov. 2024
These costs are just untenable for an awful lot of families.
—Alexandra Byrne, NBC News, 24 Nov. 2024
When that proved to be untenable, Leighton’s professor at Essex offered to reach out about a transfer to MIT, which has a strong math program — and also happens to be in Boston!
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for untenable 
Philip Elliott, TIME, 25 Nov. 2024
If the tariffs are simply a negotiating tool, as some tariff proponents say, then universal tariffs are untenable.
—The Editors, National Review, 27 Nov. 2024
These costs are just untenable for an awful lot of families.
—Alexandra Byrne, NBC News, 24 Nov. 2024
When that proved to be untenable, Leighton’s professor at Essex offered to reach out about a transfer to MIT, which has a strong math program — and also happens to be in Boston!
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for untenable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for untenable
Adjective
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Scene-to-scene continuity is typically weak and telling.Lance Eliot, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2024
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Capasa noted that a negative third quarter impacted by weak internal demand, the slowdown of purchases from Chinese customers and overall geopolitical instability kept worsening the cautious scenario already registered in the first half of the year.Sandra Salibian, WWD, 11 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The lines — in banana yellows, tangerine oranges, cranberry reds — twist and turn and suggest an irrational understanding of how the universe works.Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post, 16 Dec. 2024
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To prevent yourself from imposing irrational penalties, set up house rules that outline logical consequences in advance.Leslie Garisto Pfaff, Parents, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Left in the dust ‘Cruise’ driverless robot taxis are seen at a parking lot as California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revokes its self-driving car permit and citing ‘unreasonable risk to public safety’ in San Francisco, California, USA on October 24, 2023.Kristian Burt, CNBC, 11 Dec. 2024
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To determine whether those amounts posed an unreasonable risk of harm, the agency compared them to a specific benchmark — the highest concentration of formaldehyde measured by government monitors in outdoor air between 2015 and 2020.Sharon Lerner and Al Shaw, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near untenable
Cite this Entry
“Untenable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/untenable. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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