Skip to main content
unworkably

unworkably

7.7
In a way that does not work well or is too difficult to use
  • adverb
  • /ʌnˈwɜrkəblɪ/
translation icon : impracticablemente
  • The new regulations are implemented in an unworkably complicated manner, making it difficult for businesses to comply.

Examples

  • The vehement public debate over doctrine in the USSR in the late 1980s evidently reflected both the unwillingness of the ideologues to abandon the pursuit of political goals by military means and the resistance of the professional military to purely defensive operations as unworkably passive.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Then there is Piper's distinction between foreign and domestic plaintiffs. That gloss does not aid comity interests, as it is widely perceived as discriminatory against foreigners. The distinction has also proven unworkably complex.

    Academic text (2017)
  • After several attempts to fix the system, we concluded that it was unworkably flawed and needed to be replaced.

  • The project timeline is unworkably tight, which puts too much pressure on the team to deliver quality results.

Synonyms

impractically
vsunworkably
1 6.1

In a way that does not work well in real life

also implies failing to work or function properly
unmanageably
vsunworkably
1 7.3

In a way that is too difficult to control or handle

is about being not practical or not functioning rather than control difficulty
impracticably
vsunworkably
  • Formal
7.4

In a way that is too difficult or impossible to do

is weaker covering things merely not practical or not working
unfeasibly
vsunworkably
6.9

In a way that is not possible or very hard to do

is milder meaning not practical or unable to function properly
unusably
vsunworkably
7.2

In a way that makes something so damaged, wrong, or unclear that people cannot make it work

focuses more on lack of usability than general impracticality

Antonyms

261 3.6

In a way that gets the result you want

How Practical

ideally
92 3.5
practically
12 2.5
awkwardly
38 2.7
poorly
283 1.4
unworkably
7.7

Surface Forms

unworkably positive

Morphology

unworkably = unworkable (transparent) = un + work + able + ly

Formed by adding the adverbial suffix '-ly' to 'unworkable' (itself 'un-' + 'workable'); the meaning 'in an impractical way' follows predictably.

Etymology

Unworkably is made from un- meaning 'not', plus workable (from work + able) and the ending -ly meaning 'in a way'. So unworkably means 'in a way that cannot work', which is why we use it to say something is 'not practical' or 'cannot function properly'.