impassable

[ im-pas-uh-buh l, -pah-suh- ]

/ ɪmˈpæs ə bəl, -ˈpɑ sə- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR impassable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

Words nearby impassable

imparl, imparlance, impart, impartial, impartible, impassable, impasse, impassible, impassion, impassionate, impassioned

Origin of impassable

First recorded in 1560–70; im-² + passable

OTHER WORDS FROM impassable

im·pass·a·bil·i·ty, im·pass·a·ble·ness, nounim·pass·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for impassable

Unwisely, he took a shortcut and so missed the impassable Cabora Bassa cataracts blocking the river.
Dr. Livingstone, I Presume? The Victorian Explorer at 200|Tim Jeal|March 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Like a quietly heroic astronaut-to-be from Wapakoneta, Ohio, now gone, they have similar dreams that “nothing is impassable.”
Fire In Cairo: A View From the Arab Street|John Kael Weston|September 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Our beach path was impassable, we found another way on the back road.
Our Visit From Irene|India Hicks|August 27, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Many roads throughout Europe are impassable—Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are particularly stricken.
European Travel Breakdown|Clive Irving|December 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST

German found the old road blocked up with fallen rocks, so as to be impassable.
The Lives of the Saints, Volume II (of 16): February|Sabine Baring-Gould
In the south, however, this ancient custom still remains in full force; the doors there are yet impassable to lovers.
A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla|Leigh Hunt
The idea of caste as an eternal and impassable barrier has largely determined the history of India.
The Group Mind|William McDougall
In fact, an impassable gulf yawned between the old Roman religion and modern Roman thought.
Ten Great Religions|James Freeman Clarke
Souls reach out to each other across the impassable gulfs of individual being.
The Spinster Book|Myrtle Reed

British Dictionary definitions for impassable

impassable

/ (ɪmˈpɑːsəbəl) /

adjective

(of terrain, roads, etc) not able to be travelled through or over

Derived forms of impassable

impassability or impassableness, nounimpassably, 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

impassable

adjective

Words related to impassable

Words nearby impassable

Origin of impassable

OTHER WORDS FROM impassable

Examples from the Web for impassable

British Dictionary definitions for impassable

adjective

Derived forms of impassable