Unenviable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a situation, position or task that nobody would want to be in because it is unpleasant or difficult
2. Not the sort of thing anyone would envy, being burdensome, distressing or disagreeable to endure
3. Unappealing and hard to bear, so that a person in such circumstances is not to be envied at all

Etymology: "Unenviable" is a plain compound: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "enviable", which itself is "envy" plus the suffix "-able". Its roots run back through Old English "un-" and Middle English "un-" on one side, and on the other through Old French "envie" (from the same Latin source behind English "envy") and the Latin suffix "-abilis", meaning "able to be" or "capable of being." So "enviable" means something like "able to be envied," and "unenviable" is its negation: not the sort of thing anyone would want to be envied for. The word is built in English from these parts, so its meaning follows directly from them. Something unenviable is one that nobody would envy, typically because it is burdensome, unpleasant, or unlucky, such as a job, a position, or a situation that offers little to want.

Synonyms: undesirable, unappealing, unattractive, unwelcome, distasteful

Antonyms: enviable, desirable, attractive