untenable
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary Search / Page tools untenable Also found in: Thesaurus . un·ten·a·ble (ŭn-tĕn′ə-bəl) adj. 1. Not capable of being maintained or defended: an untenable position. 2. Not capable of being occupied or lived in: untenable quarters. 3. Usage Problem Insupportable; intolerable. un·ten′a·bil′i·ty , un·ten′a·ble·ness n. un·ten′a·bly adv. Usage Note: The word untenable has recently been applied to various situations with the meaning "not capable of being coped with; insupportable." This meaning (which is not far from the traditional sense of "incapable of being maintained") has become codified in the locution untenable situation. In our 2005 survey, fully 91 percent of the Usage Panel found this expression acceptable in the sentence The job offer left her in an untenable situation: She must either move away from her child or forgo her dream of becoming a film director. But the Panel had little e