unmaintainable
- adjective
- /ˌʌnmeɪnˈteɪnəbl/
- Formal
:
insostenible
- After the new evidence emerged, their position became unmaintainable in court.
Examples
-
It is unmaintainable to claim that the policy benefits everyone equally.
-
The lawyer argued that the contract was unmaintainable due to several legal errors.
-
The argument presented was clearly unmaintainable.
-
Many people believe that the current system is unmaintainable.
-
The lawyer argued that the contract was unmaintainable due to several legal errors.
-
After the new evidence emerged, their position became unmaintainable in court.
-
It is unmaintainable to claim that the policy benefits everyone equally.
Synonyms
27
8.2
Impossible to defend against criticism
5
7.5
No evidence can show it is true
5
6.8
You cannot show it is right or acceptable
4
6.8
No one can show it is right
4
8.1
Not able to be proven or shown to be true
2
7.8
Impossible to defend or accept without proof
1
7.4
Too weak to be protected from attack or criticism
1
6.8
Can be argued against or shown to be wrong
1
7.0
No one can prove it is true or provide evidence
Not possible to show as right or acceptable
Cannot be supported by proof or good reasons
Not able to be proved with evidence
Something that people cannot prove with evidence
Not proven to be true by tests or studies
Not believable or trustworthy
Can be shown wrong by facts or proof
Antonyms
How Defensible
22
7.8
19
5.5
2
4.9
- Formal
176
3.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
unmaintainable = maintainable (transparent) = un + maintain + able
Formed by prefixing 'un-' to 'maintainable' to mean 'not able to be defended or upheld', a regular and semantically transparent negation.
Etymology
Unmaintainable is made from un- 'not', maintain 'keep' and -able 'able to', and you can think of maintain like manual which links to 'hand' and 'hold'. So it can mean 'not able to be held up', which is why we use it for ideas or legal positions that cannot be defended or kept as true.