Meanings
comparative more unadoptable · superlative most unadoptable
- That cannot be adopted; unsuitable for adoption.
Even children with minor or correctable handicaps such as harelip, cleft palate, crossed eyes, or clubfoot were classed as "unadoptable".
1973, Colette Taube Dywasuk, Adoption — Is It for You?1 more example
At Columbia-Greene, staffers go for the most unadoptable animals to save them from euthanasia. The youngest, healthiest, cutest pets are waiting for you.
1998, Elizabeth Hess, Lost and Found
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivedifficult to place in an adoptive home
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Englishadoptable
- Englishunadoptable
Cite this entry
unadoptable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unadoptable
“unadoptable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unadoptable. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unadoptable,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unadoptable.
Source: unadoptable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.