untenable

English

Etymology

un- +‎ tenable

Adjective

untenable (comparative more untenable, superlative most untenable)

1. Not able to be held, as of an opinion or position; unholdable, indefensible.

   The theory of cold fusion was untenable.

Usage notes

• Nouns often used with "controversial": argument, doctrine, theory, hypothesis, view, position, notion, etc..

Antonyms

• tenable
• defensible

Translations

Not able to be held, as of an opinion or position

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 站不住腳的 (cmn) , 立場薄弱的 (cmn)

• Czech: neudržitelný (cs)
• Dutch: onhoudbaar
• Finnish: kestämätön (fi)
• French: intenable (fr)

• German: unhaltbar (de), unvertretbar (de)
• Norwegian Bokmål: uholdbar (nb)
• Serbo-Croatian: neodrživ (sh)
• Spanish: insostenible
• Turkish: müdafaası imkânsız (tr), savunulamaz (tr)

Related terms

• tenant

External links

• untenable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• untenable in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• untenable at OneLook Dictionary Search