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unattainable

UK/ˌʌnəˈteɪnəbəl/US/ˌʌnəˈteɪnəbəl/
adjectiveB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,699 of 15,258neutral

Unattainable means impossible to reach however hard you try. An unattainable standard, unattainable goals, practically unattainable.

It is used most about standards set for other people, since unattainable beauty standards are ones nobody could meet. Setting an unattainable target is a way of guaranteeing failure while appearing ambitious.

Definitions of unattainable

  1. 1adjectiveunattainableImpossible to reach however hard you try.B2+

    “For many young people, owning a home now seems an unattainable dream.”

unattainable is a quality.

Where it comes from

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *teh₂g- — to grasp; to touch

  2. Latin

    attingere

  3. Vulgar Latin

    *attangere

  4. Old French

    ataindre

  5. Anglo-Norman

    ataindre

  6. Middle English

    atteinen

  7. English

    attain

  8. English, today

    unattainable

Built from

  • atteynen · Middle English — to achieve, attain; to be adequate or sufficient; to affect; to come or get to (a place), reach; to corrupt, taint; to overcome, overpower; to overtake; to succeed; to tamper with; (law) to bring to justice, punish
  • attaindre · Old French — to reach
  • attingō · Latin — to come into contact with, touch; to affect; to arrive at, reach; etc.
  • tangō · Latin — to grasp, touch; to arrive at, reach; to attain; etc.

From un- + attain + -able. attain The is derived from Middle English atteinen, atteynen (“to achieve, attain; to be adequate or sufficient; to affect; to come or get to (a place), reach; to corrupt, taint; to overcome, overpower; to overtake; to succeed; to tamper with; (law) to bring to justice, punish”), from ataign-, a of Anglo-Norman ataindre, and Old French ataindre, attaindre (“to reach”) (modern French atteindre), from Vulgar Latin attangere, from Latin attingere, the of attingō (“to come into contact with, touch; to affect; to arrive at, reach; etc.”), from ad- (appearing as at- due to assimilation with the following t, inducing) + tangō (“to grasp, touch; to arrive at, reach; to attain; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European teh₂g- (“to grasp; to touch”)). a doublet of attainder and attinge. The is derived from the verb.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

unattainable in the wild

  • The object of the delusion is typically a man who is unattainable due to high social or financial status, already being in a relationship, or lack of interest.

    Erotomania

  • Although commonly thought of as being in line with Utopian ideals, Arcadia differs from that tradition in that it is more often specifically regarded as unattainable.

    Arcadia (utopia)

  • Blue roses are often used to symbolize mystery or the unattainable, since they do not exist in nature because of genetic limitations.

    Blue rose

  • The expression has also been extended metaphorically to describe unattainable ideals, ambitions, or abstract goals in both literary and psychological contexts.

    Princesse lointaine

  • Group member Patti McCabe noted its cultural resonance as a "message song" capturing the timeless, universal angst of a younger girl pinning for an older, unattainable guy.

    Born Too Late (song)

1 / 2

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

Related words

the tangō family

contacttaste

unattainable — used about once every 6,806 pages · #10,699 · point at the bar for the others