unapproachable
Americanadjective
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not capable of being approached; remote; unreachable.
an unapproachable spot; an unapproachable person.
- Synonyms:
- cold, austere, distant, aloof, inaccessible
-
impossible to equal or rival.
unapproachable mastery of her art.
adjective
-
discouraging intimacy, friendliness, etc; aloof
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inaccessible
-
not to be rivalled
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unapproachable
First recorded in 1575–85; un- 1 + approachable
Explanation
When someone is unapproachable, you won’t feel comfortable going up to the person and starting a conversation. If a place is unapproachable, it’s really hard to get there. You’ll notice the word approach is in unapproachable. Approach means “move toward” or “go up to.” When something or someone is unapproachable, that thing or person is hard to get close to. When a place is unapproachable, it’s probably remote or difficult to reach, like a fortress at the top of a cliff. When a person is unapproachable, he or she probably seems unfriendly.
Vocabulary lists containing unapproachable
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.
Triumphantly her music daunts the firmament and echoes against the dusks of the Unapproachable.
From The Masque of the Elements by Scheffauer, Herman George
The Egyptian Priests taught in their great Mysteries, that there was one God, Supreme and Unapproachable, who had conceived the Universe by His Intelligence, before He created it by His Power and Will.
From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert
Unapproachable as a spirit, like a visitant from another world, yet the creation of the familiar sun and rain!
From The Last Harvest by Burroughs, John
Del Dardo would have swooned to see how Annina handled his Unapproachable.
From Little Novels of Italy by Hewlett, Maurice Henry
Unapproachable, un-a-prōch′a-bl, adj. that cannot be approached or attained.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
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.
