uncultivable
/'ʌn'kʌltivəbl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Not suitable for cultivation or farming: Describes land or soil that cannot be used to grow crops because it is too poor, rocky, dry, or otherwise unsuitable.
- Not able to be developed or improved: In a figurative sense, it can describe something (like a skill, relationship, or quality) that cannot be nurtured, cultivated, or developed.
Usage and Examples
Primary Meaning (Land/Soil):
- The government purchased the uncultivable land for conservation.
- Much of the region's terrain is rocky and uncultivable.
- Farmers avoid the uncultivable plots near the cliff edge.
Figurative Meaning (Development/Improvement):
- His attitude was so hostile that any friendship seemed uncultivable. (This usage is less common and more literary.)
- They considered the idea uncultivable and abandoned the project.
Advanced Usage and Notes
- Technical/Formal Context: The term is often used in agricultural, environmental, and geological reports.
- The survey classified 30% of the area as uncultivable due to soil salinity.
- "Uncultivable" vs. "Uncultivated": "Uncultivable" means incapable of being cultivated. "Uncultivated" means not currently cultivated but may be capable of it.
- The fallow field is uncultivated this season, but it is not uncultivable.
- Common Collocations: Often used with words like .
Variants and Related Words
- Uncultivatable (adj): A less common synonym with the same meaning as "uncultivable."
- Infertile (adj): Not able to produce crops or offspring; often used interchangeably in the context of land, though "infertile" is broader (applying to biology).
- Barren (adj): Too poor to produce much or any vegetation; desolate.
- Arid (adj): Very dry, and therefore often uncultivable without irrigation.
- Cultivable (adj): The direct opposite, meaning suitable for cultivation.
Synonyms
- Unarable
- Unfarmable
- Sterile (in context)
- Unproductive (in context)
Antonyms
- Cultivable
- Arable
- Fertile
- Productive
- Tillable
Related Phrases and Idioms
- "Leave to lie fallow": This phrase describes land that is rested and uncultivated for a period, which is different from being permanently .
- "A hard row to hoe": An idiom meaning a difficult task to accomplish. An field would be an extremely "hard row to hoe."
Adjective
- not suitable for cultivation or tilling
- thickets of indigenous trees...on uncultivable land- C.B.Palmer