Natalie,

My guess is that the spellcheck dictionary in your version of Word doesn't include it.  I tried it in Word 2007, and it was accepted.  I don't attribute too much subtlety or analytical thought to Word spelling and grammar checkers.

Herb

-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar on behalf of Natalie Gerber
Sent: Wed 2/14/2007 12:11 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: question on why "unwinnable" is not a word
 
Hi folks--

A colleague asked me why "unwinnable" is marked by Microsoft Word as an
unacceptable word form, and I wasn't sure. Do you have an answer?

She had wondered whether it is "because the prefix 'un' connotes the
undoing of something as opposed to the 'not' doing something (as in 'not
winnable')?" Yet it strikes me that, however awkward the word form is,
there are many counterexamples, such as "unachievable," that negate this
reason. 

Thanks for your help,

Natalie Gerber
SUNY Fredonia

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