insufferable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
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.
And though “Tony” doesn’t entirely lack that heady romanticization, its choice to amplify its introductory quote — making Bourdain an even more insufferable lout for dramatic effect — feels antithetical to Bourdain’s raw candor.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 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
If you’ve made it this far, you may be thinking that the reviewer is one of those insufferable people who criticizes others to burnish his own self-importance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Yes, I am an insufferable nerd: I have been coming to things like this for 20 years.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2025
I’d expected Katz to be insufferable in the morning, but in fact he was surprisingly gracious.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
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.
