Word.ws English Dictionary

unadoptable

unadoptable adjective: that cannot be adopted; unsuitable for adoption.

Adjective

unadoptable (comparative more unadoptable, superlative most unadoptable)

  1. That cannot be adopted; unsuitable for adoption.
    • Even children with minor or correctable handicaps such as harelip, cleft palate, crossed eyes, or clubfoot were classed as "unadoptable".1973, Colette Taube Dywasuk, Adoption — Is It for You?
    • At Columbia-Greene, staffers go for the most unadoptable animals to save them from euthanasia. The youngest, healthiest, cutest pets are waiting for you.1998, Elizabeth Hess, Lost and Found

Forms of unadoptable

comparativemore unadoptable
superlativemost unadoptable

Origin of unadoptable

From un- + adoptable.

Questions about unadoptable

What does unadoptable mean?
Unadoptable means that cannot be adopted; unsuitable for adoption.
What part of speech is unadoptable?
Unadoptable is an adjective.

Words near unadoptable in the dictionary

  1. unadmitting
  2. unadmixed
  3. unadmonished
  4. unadon
  5. unadopt
  6. unadoptable
  7. unadopted
  8. unadopted road
  9. unadopted roads
  10. unadopting
  11. unadoption

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: unadoptable (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “unadoptable.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/unadoptable. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.