intolerable

[in-tol-er-uh-buhl]

adjective

1. not tolerable; unendurable; insufferable.

   intolerable pain.

   Synonyms: insupportable, unbearable
   Antonyms: endurable

2. excessive.

intolerable

/ ɪnˈtɒlərəbəl /

adjective

1. more than can be tolerated or endured; insufferable

2. informal,  extremely irritating or annoying

Other Word Forms

• intolerability noun
• intolerableness noun
• intolerably adverb
• quasi-intolerable adjective
• quasi-intolerably adverb
• superintolerable adjective
• superintolerableness noun
• superintolerably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of intolerable¹

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

Example Sentences

She entertained the horrible Babushkawoos as best she could with stories and games, and offered gentle reprimands whenever their behavior grew intolerable.

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What made it all intolerable was her manner.

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The section with the highest and intolerable risk has an estimated probability of a fatality from a rockfall event of one in 4,886.

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He called his strategy “maximum pressure”—a full-court press aimed at provoking a revolt against the government by rendering living conditions in Venezuela intolerable, while at the same time trying to trigger a military uprising.

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Italy's government said Thursday it would address concerns over a new bridge to Sicily, after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned a court ruling against the project as an "intolerable intrusion".

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• extreme 
• impossible 
• painful 
• unbearable