Meaning & use
unsustainable
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Impossible to keep going at the present level or rate, because resources will run out or damage will result.
Grammar: Usually follows a linking verb or sits before a noun: that pace is unsustainable.
Patterns
- unsustainable for someone
- unsustainable in the long term
Cutting down forests at this rate is unsustainable.
The company's spending is unsustainable and will lead to bankruptcy.
Working eighteen hours a day proved unsustainable for her health.
adjectivecomparableformallegal
Impossible to support with good reasons or evidence.
Grammar: Formal and mostly in legal or argument contexts.
Patterns
- an unsustainable argument
- an unsustainable claim
The judge said the defense's argument was unsustainable.
His position became unsustainable once the evidence emerged.
Such a claim is unsustainable without proper data.
Word forms
| comparative | more unsustainable |
|---|---|
| superlative | most unsustainable |
Common combinations
- environmentally unsustainable
- Dumping waste in the river is environmentally unsustainable.
- financially unsustainable
- The project became financially unsustainable.
- unsustainable growth
- Experts warned of unsustainable growth in debt.
- an unsustainable pace
- They kept up an unsustainable pace for months.
- deemed unsustainable
- The policy was deemed unsustainable by economists.
Synonyms and how they differ
- untenable
- Untenable is mainly used for arguments or positions that cannot be defended, while unsustainable usually concerns resources or a rate that cannot continue.
- unviable
- Unviable means unable to succeed in practice, while unsustainable means it cannot continue for long.
- unmaintainable
- Unmaintainable is rare and mostly used about software or buildings, but unsustainable is more general.
Opposites
Word family
- sustain verb
- To keep something going or support it.
- sustainable adjective
- Able to continue without using up resources.
- sustainability noun
- The ability to continue over time without damage.
- unsustainably adverb
- In a way that cannot continue.
Practice
The town pumped water out of the aquifer faster than rain could refill it, so the practice was ______.
Choose one answer.
Unsustainable describes a rate that cannot continue because the resource will run out. The other words are real but do not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unsustainable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.