Meanings
comparative more unattainable · superlative most unattainable
- Impossible to attain or reach; unable to accomplish
1 more example
Efficiency for the sake of efficiency, unchallenged authority conferred upon those who know well a few things and ignore everything else, disdain for the ordinary and humble elements that introduce happiness in our lives, worship of unattainable utopiae, are some of the features of the scheme which leads inevitably to the suppression of the eternal gifts bestowed by God upon every human person and to the frightful prospect of being ruled by what he vividly names “the Empire of the Insect.”
1974, The Chesterton Review, page 262Synonyms: inaccessible, unobtainable, unapproachable · Antonyms: attainable
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveImpossible to attain or reach; unable to accomplish
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveimpossible to achieve
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-
- Englishattain
- Englishunattainable
Translations
Bulgarian недостижим
- недостижим (nedostižim)impossible to attain
Chinese Mandarin 高不可攀的, 不可企及的
- 高不可攀的impossible to attain
- 不可企及的impossible to attain
Czech nedosažitelný, nedostupný
- nedosažitelnýimpossible to attain
- nedostupnýimpossible to attain
Danish uopnåelig
- uopnåeligimpossible to attain
Dutch onbereikbaar
- onbereikbaarimpossible to attain
Finnish saavuttamaton
- saavuttamatonimpossible to attain
French inatteignable
- inatteignableimpossible to attain
German unerreichbar, nicht machbar
- unerreichbarimpossible to attain
- nicht machbarimpossible to attain
Greek ανέφικτος
- ανέφικτος (anéfiktos)impossible to attain
Italian inattingibile
- inattingibileimpossible to attain
Latin inaccessus
- inaccessusimpossible to attain
Norwegian Bokmål uoppnåelig
- uoppnåeligimpossible to attain
Polish niedosięgły, niedosiężny
- niedosięgłyimpossible to attain
- niedosiężnyimpossible to attain
- nieosiągalnyimpossible to attain
- niedostępnyimpossible to attain
- niedościgłyimpossible to attain
Portuguese inatingível, inalcançável
- inatingívelimpossible to attain
- inalcançávelimpossible to attain
Russian недостижи́мый, недоступный
- недостижи́мый (nedostižímyj)impossible to attain
- недоступный (nedostupnyj)impossible to attain
Spanish inconseguible, inalcanzable
- inconseguibleimpossible to attain
- inalcanzableimpossible to attain
Swedish ouppnåelig
- ouppnåeligimpossible to attain
Cite this entry
unattainable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unattainable
“unattainable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unattainable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unattainable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unattainable.
Source: unattainable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.