What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Impracticable vs Infeasible - What's the difference?

impracticable | infeasible | Synonyms |

As adjectives the difference between impracticable and infeasible

is that impracticable is not practicable; impossible or difficult in practice while infeasible is not feasible.

As a noun impracticable

is an unmanageable person.

impracticable

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Not practicable; impossible or difficult in practice.
  • Of a passage or road: impassable.
  • (obsolete) Of a person or thing: unmanageable.
  • * {{quote-book, 1713, , The Fair Penitent citation
    • , passage=And yet this tough impracticable heart / Is govern'd by a dainty-finger'd girl ;
  • * {{quote-book, c. 1841, , Journals and Miscellaneous Notebooks, year_published=1960 citation
    • , passage=H. is a person of extraordinary health & vigor, of unerring perception, & equal expression; and yet he is impracticable , and does not flow through his pen or (in any of our legitimate aqueducts) through his tongue.}}

    Antonyms

    * (impossible or difficult in practice) practicable

    Derived terms

    * impracticability * impracticableness * impracticably

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) An unmanageable person.
  • * {{quote-book, 1829, Henry Barkley Henderson, The Bengalee, or Sketches of Society and Manners in the East citation
    • , passage=They were not allowed, of course, to join us in the sitting room, partly that their practice might not be disturbed, but principally, that I was looked upon as an utter impracticable . }}
  • * {{quote-book, 1867, , Famous Americans of Recent Times citation
    • , passage=The strict constructionists had dwindled to a few impracticables , headed by John Randolph. }}
  • * {{quote-book, 1870, , Society and Solitude citation
    • , passage=Then there are the gladiators, to whom it is always a battle ; 'tis no matter on which side, they fight for victory; then the heady men, the egotists, the monotones, the steriles, and the impracticables .}}

    infeasible

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Not feasible.

    • Usage notes

    Usage varies between infeasible', (m), and “not feasible” – all are synonymous, but usage varies regionally and over time, and unfamiliar usage is often jarring or sounds wrong. Today '''infeasible''' is somewhat more common, in both American and British usage, though traditionally (term) was more common, being surpassed by '''infeasible''' in the late 1970s (in both America and Britain). Of these, '''infeasible is etymologically, pure – formed of French/Latin roots – and cognate to French (m), while (term) is hybrid, combining Germanic (m) with Latinate (m). Variation: Infeasible or unfeasible?, ''(The Economist) , Jul 2nd 2012

    Derived terms

    * infeasibility * infeasibleness * infeasibly

    References