im ‧ prac ‧ ti ‧ cal /ɪmˈpræktɪk ə l/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ practical , practicalities, ↑ practicality ≠ ↑ impracticality , ↑ practicability ≠ ↑ impracticability ; adverb : ↑ practically ≠ ↑ impractically , ↑ practicably ≠ ↑ impracticably ; adjective : ↑ practicable ≠ ↑ impracticable , ↑ practical ≠ ↑ impractical ]
1 . not sensible or possible for practical reasons:
The road toll scheme was dismissed as impractical.
James was a foolish man, full of impractical plans.
2 . not good at dealing with ordinary practical matters, such as making or repairing things:
Sandra was hopelessly impractical around the house.
—impractically /-kli/ adverb
—impracticality /ɪmˌpræktɪˈkæləti, ɪmˌpræktɪˈkælɪti/ noun [uncountable] :
the sheer impracticality of collecting DNA from such a large population
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THESAURUS
▪ impossible something that is impossible cannot happen or be done:
It’s impossible to get a taxi around here.
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At times, finding a job felt like an impossible task.
▪ impractical something that is impractical is too expensive, takes too much time, is too difficult etc and therefore it is not sensible to try to do it:
It’s a nice idea, but it’s totally impractical.
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We cannot all just stop using our cars - that would be completely impractical.
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an impractical suggestion
▪ out of the question used when saying that something is completely impossible, especially because it is not allowed:
It’s out of the question for you to go alone.
▪ there’s no way informal used when saying that you think something is completely impossible:
There’s no way we can get to the airport in less than an hour.
▪ inconceivable impossible to imagine or believe:
It seemed inconceivable that there could be an end to the fighting in Northern Ireland.
▪ unthinkable impossible to imagine or believe - used especially about something that seems very shocking to people:
In those days it was unthinkable for a lady to work outside the home.
▪ unattainable impossible to achieve:
an unattainable goal
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Victory seemed unattainable.
▪ it can’t be done spoken used when saying very definitely that something is impossible:
I’m afraid it can’t be done.