indefensible


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in·de·fen·si·ble

 (ĭn′dĭ-fĕn′sə-bəl)
adj.
1. Inexcusable; unpardonable: indefensible behavior.
2. Invalid; untenable: an indefensible assumption.
3. Vulnerable to physical attack: indefensible borders.

in′de·fen′si·bil′i·ty, in′de·fen′si·ble·ness n.
in′de·fen′si·bly adv.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

indefensible

(ˌɪndɪˈfɛnsəbəl)
adj
1. not justifiable or excusable
2. capable of being disagreed with; untenable
3. incapable of defence against attack
ˌindeˌfensiˈbility, ˌindeˈfensibleness n
ˌindeˈfensibly adv
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•de•fen•si•ble

(ˌɪn dɪˈfɛn sə bəl)

adj.
1. not justifiable; inexcusable.
2. incapable of being defended against physical attack.
3. untenable.
[1520–30]
in`de•fen`si•bil′i•ty, n.
in`de•fen′si•bly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Adj.1.indefensible - (of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justifiedindefensible - (of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified
unreasonable - not reasonable; not showing good judgment
2.indefensible - not able to be protected against attack
vulnerable - susceptible to attack; "a vulnerable bridge"
3.indefensible - incapable of being justified or explainedindefensible - incapable of being justified or explained
inexcusable - without excuse or justification
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

indefensible

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

indefensible

adjective
Impossible to excuse, pardon, or justify:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

indefensible

[ˌɪndɪˈfensəbl] ADJ
1. (= unjustifiable) [conduct, action] → injustificable, inexcusable; [idea, policy] → indefendible, insostenible
2. (= vulnerable) [town, country] → indefendible
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

indefensible

[ˌɪndɪˈfɛnsɪbəl] adj [conduct] → indéfendable
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

indefensible

adj
behaviour, remark etcunentschuldbar, nicht zu rechtfertigend attror rechtfertigen pred; cause, theoryunhaltbar, unvertretbar; policyunhaltbar; morally indefensiblemoralisch nicht vertretbar
town etcnicht zu verteidigend attror verteidigen pred, → unhaltbar
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

indefensible

[ˌɪndɪˈfɛnsəbl] adj (town) → indifendibile; (conduct) → ingiustificabile
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
If it had been found impracticable to have devised models of a more perfect structure, the enlightened friends to liberty would have been obliged to abandon the cause of that species of government as indefensible. The science of politics, however, like most other sciences, has received great improvement.
And this delay, which is indefensible, was his second step into the snares of fortune.
I fell to wondering what charm Victory had found in such a man as Snider, and why I insisted upon finding excuses for her and trying to defend her indefensible act.
This Nightingale, of whom we shall be presently obliged to say a little more, was in the ordinary transactions of life a man of strict honour, and, what is more rare among young gentlemen of the town, one of strict honesty too; yet in affairs of love he was somewhat loose in his morals; not that he was even here as void of principle as gentlemen sometimes are, and oftener affect to be; but it is certain he had been guilty of some indefensible treachery to women, and had, in a certain mystery, called making love, practised many deceits, which, if he had used in trade, he would have been counted the greatest villain upon earth.
But that other man's name, inquire as you please, you shall not hear; for the Highlander values a secret for itself and for the congenial exercise of keeping it I might go on for long to justify one point and own another indefensible; it is more honest to confess at once how little I am touched by the desire of accuracy.
That her manner was wrong, however, at times very wrong, her measures often ill-chosen and ill-timed, and her looks and language very often indefensible, Fanny could not cease to feel; but she began to hope they might be rectified.
But I had more ammunition; a few wadded bullets, caps, and powder-charges, loose in a jacket pocket; and I thrust them into one of his, upon a sudden impulse, not (as I think) altogether unaccountable, albeit (as I have said) so indefensible.
Tyndall and Lord Kelvin warned the Government that it was making an indefensible mistake.
What she hoped or feared, she could not have said; a most irrational and indefensible desire for some assurance of his affection was, perhaps, uppermost in her mind.
Smalley, "between the risk of losing your client's business and the risk of losing Mine." Quite indefensible, I admit--an act of tyranny, and nothing less.
Now, if the truth must be told, our senator had the misfortune to be a man who had a particularly humane and accessible nature, and turning away anybody that was in trouble never had been his forte; and what was worse for him in this particular pinch of the argument was, that his wife knew it, and, of course was making an assault on rather an indefensible point.
But even in that tragic wreck he could not help having a smile and a hand of half-mocking friendship for the indefensible Ezza Montano.