unbearable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unbearable
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at un- 1, bearable
Explanation
When something's unbearable, you just can't take it. Your neighbor's loud music was always annoying, but when the walls shook until your favorite vase fell and broke you knew it had become unbearable. If you look at the adjective unbearable and strip away the prefix un- and the suffix -able, you have the word bear, meaning "to endure." Now put back those add-ons and you end up with a word that means "not able to endure." In other words, you can't stand it. You thought that your job as a police officer was tough until you volunteered to umpire a little league ballgame — the pressure was unbearable!
Vocabulary lists containing unbearable
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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The Cay
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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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.
Images of the fashion scion’s arrest in handcuffs and the steady drip of leaks from the police investigation have led to “a kind of unbearable premature social condemnation,” his lawyers said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
Gnawing, almost unbearable heartbreak acts as the catalyst for a layered analysis of the ways humans — or, in the case of “The Sheep Detectives,” humans and their woolly friends — ache to forget.
From Salon • May 25, 2026
Millions of people live with chronic nerve pain that can make even the lightest touch feel intense and unbearable.
From Science Daily • May 24, 2026
Critics say the heat inside the metal homes will be unbearable in the height of Cuba's summer.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
The idea of making up an excuse for why I'm home early and sitting with them in hidden mourning is unbearable.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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.
