insupportable

American  

[in-suh-pawr-tuh-buhl, -pohr-] / ˌɪn səˈpɔr tə bəl, -ˈpoʊr- /

adjective

1. not endurable; unbearable; insufferable.

   insupportable pain.

2. incapable of support or justification, as by evidence or collected facts.

   an insupportable accusation.

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insupportable British  

/ ˌɪnsəˈpɔːtəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being endured; intolerable; insufferable

2. incapable of being supported or justified; indefensible

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Other Word Forms

• insupportability noun
• insupportableness noun
• insupportably adverb

Etymology

Origin of insupportable

From the Late Latin word insupportābilis, dating back to 1520–30. See in- ³, supportable

Example Sentences

Most people would have termed her a splendid woman of her age: and so she was, no doubt, physically speaking; but then there was an expression of almost insupportable haughtiness in her bearing and countenance.

From Literature

We are as a society — and by "we" I mean virtually all of us on the planet — brought up to believe howling absurdities, ridiculous impossibilities, and insupportable malarkey from our very first moments on Earth.

From Salon

“That position is insupportable as a matter of precedent and common sense,” he wrote.

From New York Times

“That position is insupportable as a matter of precedent and common sense,” Roberts wrote.

From Washington Post

For a culture so neurocentric — so brain-bound, as Mr. Clark later called it — this was an insupportable notion, a bridge too far.

From New York Times