unviable
unviable Lexical Profile
unviable Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Not capable of working successfully; not feasible, practical, or economically sustainable.
"Rising energy costs eventually made the old manufacturing plant financially unviable."
Incapable of surviving, germinating, or developing normally outside a specific environment (especially of a seed, spore, egg, or fetus).
"Seeds stored in damp, warm conditions quickly become unviable and fail to sprout in the spring."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Unviable" and "nonviable" are often used interchangeably, though "unviable" is generally preferred in business and economic contexts (e.g., an unviable financial plan), whereas "nonviable" is standard in biological and medical contexts (e.g., a nonviable embryo).
• Rhymes for unviable
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in English from the negative prefix "un-" plus "viable," which entered the language in the early 19th century from French "viable," derived from "vie" (life), ultimately from Latin "vita."