impractical

/ɪmˈpræktɪkəl/

Say it: im-PRAK-ti-kuhl

1. adjective Not sensible or realistic; not suited to the actual conditions or purpose.
His plan to commute by helicopter was completely impractical for a junior accountant.
2. adjective Describing a person who is not skilled or interested in dealing with everyday, practical matters.
She was a brilliant artist but hopelessly impractical when it came to managing her finances.

📖 Seen in the wild

His idea for a self-sustaining underwater city, while creative, was deemed entirely impractical.
collected by @vocablast

✏️ impractical in a sentence

Wearing a white silk suit to a picnic is an impractical choice.
The city council rejected the proposal, calling it financially impractical.
It's impractical to expect a toddler to sit still for a three-hour opera.
While theoretically sound, the engineer's design was impractical to manufacture at scale.
He was full of grand, impractical schemes that never came to fruition.
The new security system proved impractical, requiring employees to remember three different passwords every day.
Many critics found the utopian vision of the novel to be beautiful but ultimately impractical for human society.

🔁 Synonyms & antonyms

unrealistic unworkable infeasible unwise inefficient idealistic quixotic utopian

unrealistic · suggests a failure to see things as they truly are, often focusing on ideals or fantasy.

unworkable · emphasizes that a plan or system simply will not function as intended in reality.

infeasible · a more formal term suggesting something cannot be accomplished, often due to technical or logistical barriers.

unwise · focuses more on the poor judgment behind an idea rather than its execution.

Opposites: practical, sensible, realistic, workable, feasible

🌱 Where it comes from

The word is a straightforward combination of the prefix 'im-', a form of 'in-' meaning 'not', and the word 'practical'. 'Practical' itself traces back through Latin to the Greek word 'praktikos', which meant 'fit for action'. Therefore, 'impractical' literally means 'not fit for action', a sense it has retained since it first appeared in English in the 17th century.

🧩 How it's used

Common patterns:

highly impracticalcompletely impracticalimpractical suggestionimpractical designimpractical to implementprove impractical

Use 'impractical' to describe something that is a bad idea in a specific context due to its difficulty, cost, or inefficiency. It's a judgment call, not a statement of absolute fact. Be careful not to confuse it with 'impossible'. An impossible plan can't be done at all, whereas an impractical one could be done, but shouldn't be.

Word family: impracticality, impracticable, practical, practicality, practically

💬 Quick answers

What does impractical mean?

It describes something that is not sensible or realistic for a particular situation, making it difficult, inefficient, or unwise to do or use.

What's the difference between impractical and impossible?

Impossible means something cannot be done at all. Impractical means it could theoretically be done, but it would be a very bad idea due to cost, difficulty, or inefficiency.

Is impractical a negative word?

Yes, it generally has a negative connotation. Calling a plan or person impractical suggests a lack of good judgment or a failure to consider real-world constraints.

Can a person be described as impractical?

Yes. An impractical person is someone who is not good at handling everyday tasks or who focuses on ideas without considering their practical application.

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