intolerable

[ in-tol-er-uh-buhl ]
See synonyms for intolerable on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. not tolerable; unendurable; insufferable: intolerable pain.

Origin of intolerable

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word intolerābilis.See in-3, tolerable

Other words for intolerable

Opposites for intolerable

Other words from intolerable

  • in·tol·er·a·bil·i·ty, in·tol·er·a·ble·ness, noun
  • in·tol·er·a·bly, adverb
  • qua·si-in·tol·er·a·ble, adjective
  • qua·si-in·tol·er·a·bly, adverb
  • su·per·in·tol·er·a·ble, adjective
  • su·per·in·tol·er·a·ble·ness, noun
  • su·per·in·tol·er·a·bly, adverb

Words that may be confused with intolerable

Words Nearby intolerable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use intolerable in a sentence

  • It combats ennui, lassitude, and intolerable vacuity, soothing the nerves and diverting attention from self.

  • To make my position more intolerable, I am persona non grata with both sides.

  • Rain storms, hot winds, sweltering intervals of intolerable heat—these were vagaries of nature and might be endured.

    The Red Year | Louis Tracy
  • They pay the penalty in that late—sometimes not so late—intolerable maddening ennui.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • Age asks with timidity to be spared intolerable pain; youth, taking fortune by the beard, demands joy like a right.

    The Pocket R.L.S. | Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for intolerable

intolerable

/ (ɪnˈtɒlərəbəl) /


adjective
  1. more than can be tolerated or endured; insufferable

  2. informal extremely irritating or annoying

Derived forms of intolerable

  • intolerability or intolerableness, noun
  • intolerably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012