epäkäytännöllisen

Epäkäytännöllinen is a Finnish adjective meaning impractical or not suitable for practical use. It is used to describe ideas, plans, objects, or methods that are difficult to apply in real-world conditions due to factors such as complexity, cost, time, or practicality.

Etymology and forms: The word is formed with the negating prefix epä- added to käytännöllinen (practical). The form epäkäytännöllisen is the genitive singular of the adjective, used before a noun to indicate possession or association, for example epäkäytännöllisen suunnitelman (the impractical plan’s). As a declined adjective, epäkäytännöllinen also appears in other cases and numbers to match its noun.

Usage and nuance: epäkäytännöllinen carries evaluative nuance and is commonly employed in critique or analysis. It contrasts with kätevä, toimiva, and käytännöllinen (practical or workable). In everyday language it can describe plans that ignore real-world constraints, equipment that is not feasible within budget, or policies that are theoretically sound but hard to implement.

Common contexts: project planning, design, engineering, and policy discussions, where feasibility and efficiency are weighed. It can modify concrete nouns (epäkäytännöllinen ratkaisu) or more abstract concepts (epäkäytännöllisen ajattelun heikkoudet).

Related terms: käytännöllinen (practical), käytäntö (practice), realismin vastineita kuten realistinen. Antonyms include käytännöllinen and realistinen; synonyms are toimiva and kustannustehokas in appropriate contexts.

See also: Finnish language resources on adjectives and inflection, and discussions of feasibility in planning and design literature.