untenable
impossible to defend or maintain
Word origin: From Latin tenere, to hold.
Untenable in a sentence
Here are example sentences showing untenable in a sentence.
Once the data emerged, his theory became completely untenable.
Once the data were retracted, the committee's original conclusion became untenable.
Using “untenable” well
Untenable means impossible to defend or maintain, applied to positions, arguments, or situations. It is the direct opposite of tenable, its own negated form, and of defensible.
More GRE words starting with U
seeming to be present everywhere at the same time
to howl or wail loudly, especially in grief or celebration
offense or annoyance taken at a perceived slight
complete and unqualified, without anything to diminish it
having only one possible meaning; entirely clear
complete agreement among everyone involved
impossible to attack, question, or refute
not subjected to attack or challenge
Questions about “untenable”
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Definitions in isolation do not stick. Sit a free, full-length GRE mock and meet this vocabulary inside real text completion and sentence equivalence questions, with your score and a worked solution for every answer.