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
- intolerability noun
- intolerableness noun
- intolerably adverb
- quasi-intolerable adjective
- quasi-intolerably adverb
- superintolerable adjective
- superintolerableness noun
- superintolerably adverb
Etymology
Origin of intolerable
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word intolerābilis. See in- 3, tolerable
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.
Meta attorney Phyllis Jones showed jurors Instagram posts, text messages and ephemera from her high school years in which Kaley portrayed her home life as intolerable.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026
When do competitively priced imports become an intolerable dependency?
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
The National Association for Gun Rights decried Pirro’s warning as “unacceptable and intolerable comments by a sitting US attorney.”
From Salon • Feb. 6, 2026
In 2024, Mr Cottrell said he had been faced with a "horrible and intolerable situation" regarding David Tudor, that he "lived with every day".
From BBC • Jan. 29, 2026
To say ‘Where?’ was bad enough, but to speak openly of the wires—that was intolerable.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
