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impracticality

impracticality

1 6.8
A situation when something cannot work well in everyday life
  • noun
  • /ɪmˌpræktɪˈkælɪti/
translation icon : impracticabilidad
  • In a parliamentary address, F.W. de Klerk explained that reform had to occur because of the impracticality and poor application of apartheid.

Examples

  • The need for such exclusive media decisions is explained by the impracticality of having and maintaining a wide variety of media platforms at the institutional level.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The impracticality of using a bicycle in the mountainous terrain was evident to everyone.

  • I feel sure the impracticality of it would be all too clear to you later.

  • Quite apart from its impracticality, it is not natural.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The problem, however, goes beyond the impracticality of such a proposal.

    Academic text (1998)
  • The impracticality of physical travel between stars has constrained and shaped the nature of such trade.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • What has stayed with me is its perverse impracticality.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The utter impracticality of a liberal arts degree is one of its stronger recommendations.

    Blog text (32)
  • As I matured, so did my worldview, and I realized the growing chance and impracticality of the possibility.

    Blog text (4)
  • Thus, McCarthyism's excesses do not invalidate anticommunism; similarly, the impracticality of Prohibition hardly demonstrates that opposition.

    Academic text (1991)

Synonyms

uselessness
vsimpracticality
6 4.3

A state in which something does not help or have value

is used for being unworkable or unsuitable rather than simply valueless
unsuitability
vsimpracticality
1 5.5

A state in which something is not right for a particular use or situation

focuses more on being unworkable in practice rather than only inappropriate
infeasibility
vsimpracticality
1 8.5

A situation where something cannot be done or is not practical

is broader including ideas that are unsuitable though possibly doable
impracticableness
vsimpracticality
  • Formal
9.9

A state in which something cannot be done in real life

is broader covering being unworkable or unsuitable for use
impracticability
vsimpracticality
  • Formal
9.0

A situation where something cannot be done or used in real life

is about unsuitability for practical application rather than strict impossibility
inviability
vsimpracticality
8.5

A situation that is impossible or too difficult to make work

is about being unworkable for practical use in ordinary situations
unworkability
vsimpracticality
7.7

Impossible or very difficult to make a plan succeed

is broader by also covering unsuitability despite possible practical use
unusability
vsimpracticality
7.5

A condition where something cannot be used

is about unsuitability for practical use rather than only not fit for use
inoperability
vsimpracticality
8.2

A situation when a machine or system cannot work as it should

is broader covering unsuitability for use beyond mere functional failure
unusefulness
vsimpracticality
9.2

A situation when something is not helpful and has no clear purpose

focuses on lack of usefulness rather than impossibility to use
nonutility
vsimpracticality
7.8

Not useful for practical purposes

stresses being unworkable or unsuitable for real use rather than uselessness
inutility
vsimpracticality
  • Archaic
9.9

A state of not being useful

focuses on being unsuitable or unworkable rather than merely pointless
inappositeness
vsimpracticality
9.9

The state of not being suitable for a situation or purpose

is broader adding the idea of being unworkable not only inappropriate
inaptness
vsimpracticality
  • Formal
9.1

Not suitable or right for a situation

emphasizes not working in practice rather than mere mismatch to task
unsuitableness
vsimpracticality
7.4

The state of not being right for a use or situation

is about failure to work or be practical beyond mere mismatch
inexpediency
vsimpracticality
  • Formal
9.9

A state of being unsuitable or unwise for a specific purpose

focuses on being impractical in use rather than a judgment about wisdom

Antonyms

26 3.9

Being useful and likely to work well in real situations

18 4.5

How possible something is to do, like a plan or idea

How Practical

practicality
26 3.9
usefulness
40 1.6
impracticality
1 6.8
uselessness
6 4.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

impracticality = impractical (transparent) = im + practical + ity

Formed by a regular noun-forming suffix '-ity' from the adjective 'impractical', yielding 'the state or quality of being impractical'.

Etymology

Impracticality starts with im- meaning 'not' and the part practical comes from practice, a simple word for 'doing' or 'use'. So impracticality is the quality of being 'not useful in real life' or not good for practical use.