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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > UNASSAILABLE

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pronounce UNASSAILABLE:

un uh SAIL uh bull
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connect this word to others:

Back in grad school, when I was learning about research design, I realized there's no such thing as an unassailable research study. There simply is no study that's perfectly excellent, logical, flawless, thorough, well-designed, well-executed, bulletproof, and w____tight ("planned or designed so well that nothing can beat it or get around it, like an unsinkable ship"). Studies can be strong, but they'll always have some kind of limitation. So, all research studies are assailable: open to attack, open to criticism.

In fact... can you think of anything that's truly unassailable? (Besides this cat video, obviously. Perfection.)

It might be that the word unassailable, like panacea and Xanadu, is one of those words that helps us describe hypothetical or imaginary things. (Could you define both of those, panacea and Xanadu?)

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)   

definition:

As I mentioned here, the word "assail" has Latin bits that literally mean "to leap toward." Today we use it to mean "to attack physically, or to attack or criticize verbally."

If someone or something is so strong or so correct that no one can attack it (whether with weapons or with criticisms), then it's unassailable. In other words, unassailable people or things are too tough or too excellent for anyone to attack them or criticize them.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "Her logic was unassailable;" "She argued with unassailable logic."

Other forms: 

The adverb is "unassailably," as in "Her argument is unassailably logical."

For a noun, you can pick between "unassailableness" or, my preference: "unassailability."

If you'd like to explore the verb "assail" and its related forms, check that out here.

how to use it:

With five punchy syllables and that heavy accent on "SAIL" in the middle, "unassailable" is a powerful, emphatic, highly formal word.

To use it in a literal sense, you might talk about unassailable places or things, like unassailable walls, fortresses, or mountains.

Most of the time, though, we talk about someone's unassailable logic, facts, reasons, or arguments, or about someone's unassailable honor, reputation, values, or creations.

Less commonly, we talk abstractly about unassailable forces, powers, or losses: the kind that can't be attacked or fought off, as in "He spoke with unassailable confidence."

examples:

"Theodore Dreiser’s 'An American Tragedy'... makes the unassailable point that people do bad things for money and status."
 — Louis Bayard, Washington Post, 8 June 2021

"'And if the blind leadeth the blind, both shall fall into the ditch,' she told him, making her argument unassailable because it was clearly on the side of the Lord."
   — Homer Hickam, Wall Street Journal, 1999

has this page helped you understand "unassailable"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study it:

Explain the meaning of "unassailable" without saying "above criticism" or "unimpeachable."

try it out:

Here's Jeanette Winterson talking about a beloved library:

"My own Carnegie library in Accrington is still open. I visited recently. There are far fewer books. The lovely separate children's library has been closed. There are no longer classical music concerts or lectures – Pitman Painters' style. There are computers of course and plenty of people coming in and out. The library is doing its best according to its remit of being a community centre with books. What the library isn't any more is the place of unassailable knowledge I encountered as a kid."

Talk about what she means: why did she think long ago of the library as a "place of unassailable knowledge"? 

And, if you can, talk about a place (or a person or thing) that you thought was unassailable when you were young.




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for this month is "That's Not a Thing, That's Two Things."

I describe it; you name it! For example, if I give you "It's that thing where Steve Harvey hosts two groups competing as vassals in medieval Europe," then you give me "Family Feudalism." To see the answer, scroll to the bottom.

Try this today:

It's that thing where you and your friends, imprisoned, fend off a bevy of robotic vacuum cleaners as you hunt down clues and solve puzzles to break free.

review this word:

1. Something UNASSAILABLE is ASSAILABLE, or

A. open to attack.
B. able to be used.
C. convenient to transport.

2. Karla L. Miller offers this advice in the Washington Post: "When feelings are at issue, try, 'When you say X, I feel Y.' Saying 'You make me feel' implies blame and inspires defensiveness, but 'I feel' is your unassailable _____."

A. truth
B. opinion
C. interpretation




Answers to the review questions:
1. A
2. A

From the game:
That's an Escape Roomba.


a final word:


I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.


From my blog:
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

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