impassable
Americanadjective
-
not passable; not allowing passage over, through, along, etc..
Heavy snow made the roads impassable.
-
unable to be surmounted.
an impassable obstacle to further negotiations.
-
(of currency) unable to be circulated.
He tore the bill in half, making it impassable.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of impassable
Explanation
Whether it’s a road, a barrier, a river, or an abyss, if you can’t travel through or over it, you can describe it as impassable. When you break apart the word impassable, it’s pretty easy to figure out what it means. The im- prefix, a variant of in-, may be familiar to you as a way to say “not.” And passable is likely pretty familiar too, referring to something that can be crossed. When you combine those parts you get something that you can’t navigate. Impassable is usually used in a literal sense, referring to things that you can’t travel through — like side streets after a major snow storm.
Vocabulary lists containing impassable
The Alchemist
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Lincoln Inaugural Address (March 1861)
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
In some of the latest developments, Saudi Arabia closed its East-West pipeline — which had been used to bypass the largely impassable Strait of Hormuz — after drone attacks on the facility.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Yoshitaka Isaji said the passage used in rescue efforts on Saturday was currently impassable because a drainage pump had broken, but repair efforts were ongoing.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
The recall followed severe weather in San Antonio, during which a Waymo entered a flooded and impassable road, the company said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
Amazon plans 200 rural hubs covering 13,000 ZIP Codes across 1.2 million square miles, facing challenges like impassable roads.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
The road to Marsabit was unpaved, and heavy rains could make it impassable.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
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.
