unfulfillable
- adjective
- /ˌʌnˈfʊlɪfəbəl/
- Many people have unfulfillable dreams of becoming a millionaire overnight.
Examples
-
She had covered the walls with the scribbled hieroglyphs of the unfulfilled and probably unfulfillable longings with which she had armed herself so that she could finally free herself from him.
Fiction book (1994) -
It's about making promises that are unfulfillable... before the fact.
Blog text (15) -
Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing.
-
The project's demands were so extreme that they became unfulfillable within the deadline.
-
Expecting everyone to agree on a single solution is often an unfulfillable goal.
Synonyms
Not possible to get or reach
A strong want or need no one can satisfy
Not possible to do or make work
Not possible to do or reach
Not possible to do or make happen
Not possible to do in real life because of problems
Not possible to meet a demand or to solve a problem
Not able to be made whole or replaced
Impossible to do or make real
Impossible to calm or satisfy
Impossible to finish
Antonyms
How Achievable
Surface Forms
Morphology
unfulfillable = fulfillable (transparent) = un + fulfill + able
Formed by standard negation (un-) of 'fulfillable', whose meaning is clearly from 'fulfill' + '-able'.
Etymology
The word unfulfillable breaks down into un- 'not', fill 'make full', and -able 'can be done'. So, think of a leaky cup that never stays full: something unfulfillable cannot be made full, satisfied, or completed.