impassable

[im-pas-uh-buhl, -pah-suh-]

adjective

1. not passable; not allowing passage over, through, along, etc..

   Heavy snow made the roads impassable.

2. unable to be surmounted.

   an impassable obstacle to further negotiations.

3. (of currency) unable to be circulated.

   He tore the bill in half, making it impassable.

impassable

/ ɪmˈpɑːsəbəl /

adjective

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

Other Word Forms

• impassability noun
• impassableness noun
• impassably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of impassable¹

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

Example Sentences

Multiple highways remained impassable Saturday and 300,000 people were without power, after a blackout that initially affected more than a million, the environment ministry added.

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That’s when the roads became treacherous and often impassable with snow and ice.

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The snow could make some higher routes impassable and there could be some disruption to rail journeys.

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Now that it is arriving in the country, landslides, downed power lines and fallen trees have made certain roads impassable - complicating its distribution.

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Although aid is entering the country, landslides, downed power lines and fallen trees have made certain roads impassable.

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Related Words

• impenetrable 
• insurmountable