non-viable

IPA/ˌnɒnˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/
IPA/ˌnɑːnˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/

non-viable — adjective

1. used for a plan, business, service, or system that cannot work well enough to ke

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

used for a plan, business, service, or system that cannot work well enough to keep going successfully.

Example

The council dropped the rail plan after experts called it financially non-viable.

collocation: financially non-viable

Without more patients, Maeve's village clinic became non-viable within a year.

Common collocations
  • financially non-viable
  • non-viable business
  • non-viable plan
  • non-viable system
Synonyms
  • unworkable

    often stresses that people cannot carry the plan out in practice

  • unsustainable

    emphasises that support, money, or resources will run out

  • infeasible

    more formal and often narrower, focusing on whether something can be done at all

Antonyms
  • viable

    the standard opposite for something that can keep succeeding

  • workable

    more informal and slightly broader than viable

Grammar Patterns

[be] + non-viable

non-viable + noun

Usage Note

Often used after financial, technical, or policy review. The subject is usually something that must keep operating over time, not a single action.

Common Mistakes

The bus route is impossible now.
The bus route is non-viable now.
'impossible' says it cannot be done at all, while 'non-viable' says it cannot keep working successfully.
The shop is unpopular.
The shop is non-viable.
'unpopular' describes opinion, but 'non-viable' means the business cannot survive in practice.

2. used for living material such as a pregnancy, embryo, cell, or seed that cannot

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

used for living material such as a pregnancy, embryo, cell, or seed that cannot stay alive and grow in the usual way.

Example

Doctors told Tanvi the pregnancy was non-viable after the final scan.

medical collocation: non-viable pregnancy

The lab found most of the frozen cells were non-viable.

Common collocations
  • non-viable pregnancy
  • non-viable embryo
  • non-viable cells
  • non-viable seeds
Synonyms
  • inviable

    a more formal alternative, especially in scientific writing

  • dead

    less precise because it states that life has ended, not just that development cannot continue

Antonyms
  • viable

    the usual opposite for cells, pregnancies, embryos, or seeds that can develop

  • healthy

    broader and less technical, focusing on good condition rather than development

Grammar Patterns

[be] + non-viable

non-viable + noun

Usage Note

Mostly used in medicine or biology. It refers to failed survival or development in living material, not to ordinary practical failure.

Common Mistakes

The embryo is dead.
The embryo is non-viable.
'dead' is stronger, while 'non-viable' can mean it cannot continue developing normally.
These seeds are useless.
These seeds are non-viable.
'useless' is general, but 'non-viable' specifically refers to seeds that cannot grow.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These words can all describe a bad option, but they fail in different ways. Unworkable often means people cannot carry an idea out in practice. Unsustainable stresses that time, money, or other support will run out. Infeasible is more formal and often focuses on whether something can be done at all under the current conditions. Impractical suggests that an idea does not fit real life very well. Non-viable is strongest when the problem is survival over time: a business, service, or project cannot keep operating successfully.

unworkable ↗unsustainable ↗infeasible ↗impractical ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Phrases

  • become non-viable
  • prove non-viable
  • remain non-viable

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed from the prefix 'non-' and the adjective 'viable'. Viable entered English through French and goes back to Latin 'vita', meaning 'life'. Because of that history, non-viable first centered on living things that could not survive or develop, and later widened to plans, businesses, and systems that cannot keep going successfully.

First known use

1871

1871, in the meaning defined above