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
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.
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
That Epstein’s crimes were confined to himself and a few enablers, chiefly Ghislaine Maxwell, was intolerable to influencers and politicos determined to attribute all bad things to the dark workings of cabals.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 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
Teller’s intellect was indispensable at Los Alamos, but his presence was intolerable.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
