non-viable

/ˌnɒnˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌnɑːnˈvaɪ.ə.bəl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌnän-ˈvī-ə-bəl How to pronounce nonviable (audio)/ (ame, mw)

non-viable — adjective

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

1.形容詞C1
釋義

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

例句

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.

同義詞
  • 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

反義詞
  • viable

    the standard opposite for something that can keep succeeding

  • workable

    more informal and slightly broader than viable

文法句型

[be] + non-viable

non-viable + noun

用法筆記

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

常見錯誤

❌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.形容詞C1
釋義

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

例句

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.

同義詞
  • 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

反義詞
  • 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

文法句型

[be] + non-viable

non-viable + noun

用法筆記

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

常見錯誤

❌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.