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.
Sir Keir Starmer's former chief of staff revealed how "unbearable" it was working in No 10, saying she feared she was being recorded by colleagues, the Guardian reports.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, the 25-year-old made a direct appeal to Downing Street to help ease the "unbearable" suffering of brain cancer patients and their families.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"I have a daughter -- we don't go outside until it cools down a bit, because the current temperatures are unbearable," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
I knew at the time this would be something I would remember all my life, but the memory took on almost unbearable poignancy when Lorraine died on July 3, 2006.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
How much longer could he continue this charade before it became unbearable?
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
