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
- impassability noun
- impassableness noun
- impassably adverb
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.
Also check the weather; most roads in the monument are dirt or gravel and can become impassable in rain.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
“The longer the strait is impassable, the tighter commodity supply will become, thus the higher prices will likely go, and the greater the inflationary impulse that will follow,” the senior research strategist says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026
"The longer the Strait is impassable, the tighter commodity supply will become, thus the higher prices will likely go, and the greater the inflationary impulse that will follow."
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
It’s tucked in an old-growth redwood tree in the backcountry of the park, in Humboldt County, where there are no roads and a creek presents an impassable barrier, Williams-Claussen said.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026
The roads would be covered with debris, impassable for days.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
