non-viable

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparablebusiness

   Not able to succeed or continue in practice, especially because of cost or other limits.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a non-viable plan.

   Patterns

   • be non-viable for someone

   The bank decided the project was non-viable without more funding.

   A non-viable business model drains money every month.

   The farm became non-viable after the road closed.

2. 2adjectivenot comparablebiologymedical

   Not able to live, grow or develop, as with a seed, embryo or cell.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: non-viable seeds.

   Patterns

   • be non-viable

   Many of the older seeds were non-viable and did not sprout.

   The scan showed the pregnancy was non-viable.

   Heat made the bacteria non-viable.

Common combinations

commercially non-viable

The mine proved commercially non-viable.

non-viable option

Selling the shop was a non-viable option.

deemed non-viable

The idea was deemed non-viable by the board.

non-viable seeds

Farmers threw away the non-viable seeds.

economically non-viable

Small routes are economically non-viable for the airline.

Synonyms and how they differ

unworkable

Unworkable is plainer and suits everyday plans, while non-viable sounds more technical and financial.

unsustainable

Unsustainable means it cannot continue over time, whereas non-viable can mean it cannot succeed even at the start.

impractical

Impractical means hard or silly to do, but non-viable suggests it simply cannot succeed.

Opposites

Word family

viable adjective

able to work or survive

viability noun

the ability to succeed or survive

viably adverb

in a way that can work

nonviability noun

the state of being unable to succeed

Commonly confused: non-viable or invalid?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “non-viable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words