intolerable

[ in-tol-er-uh-buhl ]

/ ɪnˈtɒl ər ə bəl /

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adjective

not tolerable; unendurable; insufferable: intolerable pain.

excessive.

Nearby words

Origin of intolerable

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word intolerābilis. See in-³, tolerable

SYNONYMS FOR intolerable

1. unbearable, insupportable.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR intolerable ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR intolerable

1. endurable.

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Related forms

in·tol·er·a·bil·i·ty, in·tol·er·a·ble·ness, nounin·tol·er·a·bly, adverbqua·si-in·tol·er·a·ble, adjectivequa·si-in·tol·er·a·bly, adverb

su·per·in·tol·er·a·ble, adjectivesu·per·in·tol·er·a·ble·ness, nounsu·per·in·tol·er·a·bly, adverb

Can be confusedintolerable intolerant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for intolerable

When the problem is already political, when the intolerable situation is the status quo?
Cover-Ups and Concern Trolls: Actually, It's About Ethics in Suicide Journalism|Arthur Chu|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“My personal life had basically reached a dead end and the pressures on me were intolerable,” he says.
Iranian Poet Blacklisted for Being Gay|Nina Strochlic|July 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It also must have diminished significantly the CGI budget, as well as removed an intolerable amount of background noise.
‘Noah’: The Bible vs. the Blockbuster|Joel Baden|March 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A joke rapper is one thing, but a bad joke rapper is intolerable.
‘Because the Internet’ Review: Childish Gambino Is Hip-Hop’s Perennial Outsider|Rawiya Kameir|December 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST

That collective gasp you hear is the audience jolted by intolerable cruelty in 12 Years a Slave.
The ‘12 Years a Slave’ Book Shows Slavery As Even More Appalling Than In the Film|Jimmy So|October 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
This process would be so arbitrary and inequitable in its operation as to be intolerable.
Proportional Representation Applied To Party Government|T. R. Ashworth and H. P. C. Ashworth
How fatal then, how tormenting, how intolerable, must her reverse of fortune be!
The Adventures of Roderick Random|Tobias Smollett
He does not pretend to be just, while he is committing, or winking at, the most intolerable injustices.
God and Mr. Wells|William Archer
Nor can it be said that, during Queen Margaret's life, the conditions were intolerable.
The Story of Norway|Hjalmar H. Boyesen
In the intolerable anxiety of the moment he had forgotten to resist, he had not even thought of resisting.
The Witch of Prague|F. Marion Crawford

British Dictionary definitions for intolerable

intolerable

/ (ɪnˈtɒlərəbəl) /

adjective

more than can be tolerated or endured; insufferable

informal extremely irritating or annoying

Derived Formsintolerability or intolerableness, nounintolerably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for intolerable

intolerable

adj.

late 14c., from Latin intolerabilis "that cannot bear, that cannot be borne," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + tolerabilis "that may be endured," from tolerare "to tolerate" (see toleration). Related: Intolerably.

intolerable

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of intolerable

Examples from the Web for intolerable

intolerable

adjective

intolerable