untenable

Meanings

• Adjective

  Unsustainable; not able to be maintained or defended.

• Noun

  A situation or argument that cannot be continued or defended.

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Antonyms

defensible , sustainable , tenable , habitable

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Rhymes

Words rhyming with untenable
invalid , unforgivable , controllable

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Variants

List of all variants of untenable that leads to same result
untenabilities , untenability , untenable

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Forms

Different forms of the word (e.g., verb conjugations, plural forms, comparative/superlative forms for adjectives).

The verb form of untenable is 'to make untenable' which means 'to make unsustainable or undefendable'.

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Etymology

origin and the way in which meanings have changed throughout history.

Originally meant 'untenable by land or sea', from the Old French untenable, from tenir to hold.

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Trivia

Any details, considerations, events or pieces of information regarding the word

1. The term 'untenable' was first used in English literature in the 15th century.

2. The word 'untenable' is derived from the Old French word 'tenable', which meant 'capable of being held or defended'.

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Related Concepts

informations on related concepts or terms closely associated with the word. Discuss semantic fields or domains that the word belongs to

1. Untenable position: A position or argument that cannot be maintained or defended due to its inherent weaknesses or contradictions.

2. Untenable agreement: An agreement that is no longer viable or enforceable due to changing circumstances or new information.

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Quotes

Quotes by authors and personalities

1. The Agriculture Department is in an "untenable" position. With the two hats that it wears—one to protect consumer health and the other to help farmers sell food—it cannot tell us to eat fewer calories. After all, fewer calories generally mean less food, which would fly in the face of the department's mandate to help farmers.

   - Marian Burros,{it}New York Times{/it},14 Aug. 2002

2. The problem was then resolved—not by finding that the conduct in question was justified, because that would have offended the judge's sense of order, and not by rejecting the applicability of the defense, which would have led to a reportable opinion and an appeal—but through a dismissal of the charges on the wholly "untenable" ground that the prosecution had not proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

   - Edward N. Costikyan,{it}New York Times Book Review{/it},13 Mar. 1988

3. But scholars are citizens, too, and if it is wrongheaded to demand political payoff from basic research, it would be equally "untenable" to demand that research be quarantined from the real-world considerations that weigh so heavily upon us.

   - Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,{it}New York Times{/it},4 Apr. 1998

4. All the theories of the Moon's origin proposed before the Apollo Moon landings of 1969 … became "untenable" when the rocks returned from the Moon proved to be as old as the Earth and significantly dissimilar.

   - {it}Physics Today{/it},January 1997

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Culture

Any cultural, historical, or symbolic significance of the word. Explore how the word has been used in literature, art, music, or other forms of expression.

The term 'untenable' has been used extensively in literature and politics to describe situations that are no longer viable or defensible. For instance, in George Orwell's 'Animal Farm', the pigs' rule becomes untenable due to their increasing tyranny.

How to Memorize "untenable"

1. visualize
   

   - Visualize a situation where someone is unable to maintain their position or argument due to its unsustainability.

2. associate
   

   - Associate the word 'untenable' with 'unsustainable' or 'undefendable'.

3. mnemonics
   

   - Create a mnemonic by remembering the first letter of each definition: 'U' for Unsustainable and 'N' for Undefendable.

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