Dictionary Definition
nonviable adj : not capable of living or
developing successfully
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Alternative spellings
- non-viable US
Adjective
- Not viable: not capable of independent life; not practicable.
Extensive Definition
Viability means in general "capacity for
survival" and is more specifically used to mean a capacity for
living, developing, or germinating under favorable conditions. The
word is especially used in the following contexts:
- viability in pregnancy refers to either:
- an early stage pregnancy that has a chance of reaching full-term and a live birth (as opposed to, for example, an ectopic pregnancy); or
- the shortest length of pregnancy after which a child born prematurely has a chance of survival. Generally, this ranges from 20-27 weeks.
- viability in environmental conservation indicates the ability of a conservation target to persist for many generations or over long time periods.
- viability of cells and tissues in experimental biology refers to the extent to which those cells and tissues are living.
- viability in natural selection denotes the fraction of individuals that survive to a given age.
- viability in economic development indicates the ability of benefits to cover costs in development projects.
nonviable in Modern Greek (1453-):
Βιωσιμότητα
nonviable in French: Viabilité