intolerable
Americanadjective
-
not tolerable; unendurable; insufferable.
intolerable pain.
- Synonyms:
- insupportable, unbearable
- Antonyms:
- endurable
adjective
-
more than can be tolerated or endured; insufferable
-
informal extremely irritating or annoying
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of intolerable
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word intolerābilis. See in- 3, tolerable
Explanation
If something is impossible to put up with, you can say it is intolerable. It would be intolerable if your neighbors played their terrible, loud music all night long. Intolerable, tolerable, tolerate, tolerant, and even extol all share the same Latin root word tolerare, which means to bear. Intolerable couples that with the prefix in-, which means not, giving the word its unbearable meaning. The Intolerable Acts, for example, were laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774. The American colonists found them unendurable, and they sparked support for the independence movement, which eventually led to the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Vocabulary lists containing intolerable
Night
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The Old Man and the Sea
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"Common Sense," Vocabulary from the pamphlet
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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.
"This is a huge problem. It's an intolerable experience sometimes to go down some of the roads, like this one here. What a miserable experience."
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
The mere risk of discrimination was intolerable to the Furman court.
From Slate • Jun. 8, 2026
His comment came a day after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the activists' treatment "intolerable" and demanded an apology by Israel.
From Barron's • May 21, 2026
“We know full well that the continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America, while we have not even begun yet.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
It had been too hot to think, too hot to sleep, too hot to do anything except seek refuge anywhere you could find it, until the temperature ticked back down from intolerable to just bearable.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
