inaccessible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inaccessible
From the Late Latin word inaccessibilis, dating back to 1545–55. See in- 3, accessible
Explanation
Can't get to something you want? It must be inaccessible. If it were accessible, you wouldn't have any trouble finding it. This word makes a lot of sense when you think about the word access, which is the ability to get at, use, or have something. Inaccessible things are out of reach. There are a lot of ways this word is used. A building without a ramp is often called inaccessible because people who use wheelchairs can't get in. People can be inaccessible too. If your doctor has office hours only one hour a day every two months, she's really inaccessible.
Vocabulary lists containing inaccessible
"Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The Bluest Eye
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Remote Learning: Synonyms for "Far"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The price and rate at which merch sells out makes it inaccessible for a lot of fans,” says Ishita Mehta, 21, who works in tech in Thornton, Colo., and recently saw BTS in Massachusetts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
"Dave is such a humble guy and he doesn't feel too inaccessible because I feel like he really leads from a love of music, first and foremost," says Kamal.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
However, the steepest and most inaccessible terrain acted as a natural barrier, protecting important areas of old-growth forest that logging crews could not easily reach.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
The inaccessible cash continues to threaten their family’s ability to continue construction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Might gravity tunnels provide a kind of interstellar or intergalactic subway, permitting us to travel to inaccessible places much more rapidly than we could in the ordinary way?
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.