insufferable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- insufferableness noun
- insufferably adverb
Etymology
Origin of insufferable
First recorded in 1525–35; in- 3 + sufferable ( def. )
Explanation
If something is insufferable, it's unbearable and impossible, like the insufferable humidity of the "rain forest room" at the zoo on a hot summer day. You can see the word suffer in insufferable — and it's no coincidence. If it's unacceptable or too much to handle, it's insufferable. An egotistic co-worker is insufferable, and so is a blizzard that leaves six-foot drifts against the doors of your house, or insufferable working conditions in many of the factories that produce goods around the world.
Vocabulary lists containing insufferable
"The Cask Of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe
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The Lightning Thief
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"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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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.
It would be insufferable except for the author telling such tales on himself as the one in which he absent-mindedly booked three different client meetings in three different cities at the same time and date.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
If I’m right, you beat your neighbors by 3% and get to be insufferable about it at barbecues.
From MarketWatch • Oct. 17, 2025
Readers who thought “The Poppy War” trilogy didn’t stick the landing, or that Rin became insufferable by the end, will be pleased that “Katabasis” does stick it, and that Alice evolves.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 22, 2025
"So I know I'm going to be an insufferable parent. I'll be saying, 'please let me brush your teeth', and the kid's going to be, like, 17."
From BBC • Jul. 24, 2025
“Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all.”
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
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.
