insupportable

adjective

in·​sup·​port·​able ˌin(t)-sə-ˈpȯr-tə-bəl How to pronounce insupportable (audio)
: not supportable:
a
: more than can be endured
insupportable pain
b
: impossible to justify
insupportable charges
insupportably adverb

Examples of insupportable in a Sentence

the insupportable arrogance of that jerk is more than anyone should have to bear the organization's racist views have been denounced as morally insupportable
Recent Examples on the Web Unless the distress among the German people should become insupportable, any sudden advance movement on their part that relied on force would be doomed to failure without armed support and assistance from outside. Foreign Affairs, 18 Dec. 2011 There are people of goodwill who think the way out of this insupportable situation lies in the fight for equal democratic rights in a single state for everyone living in the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Michelle Goldberg, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 The justification for this decision was increasingly insupportable as the 2010s progressed and private launch companies such as SpaceX proved far more efficient than the government. Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 10 Jan. 2023 There is no consensus on this in today’s housing discourse, and if anything, the discussion is leaning toward trying to make housing an entitlement, something completely insupportable and undesirable. Roger Valdez, Forbes, 5 May 2023 Without an urgent anxiety about the near-death of the American republic, about the pandemic, about the terrors of climate change, about the insupportable nature of racial injustice, about the incompatibility of gross inequality and democracy, there can be no hope. Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 2 Mar. 2021 For the English to transplant themselves around the world and rule over others was a natural right, but for a darker-skinned colonial to presume to do the reverse was insupportable. Fara Dabhoiwala, The New York Review of Books, 1 July 2021 Some of those women will face insupportable life options and some will die because of Friday’s decision. Yvonne Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2022 Solving for this strange and increasingly insupportable stasis in our most vital infrastructure will require a multi-faceted strategy. Desmond Wheatley, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'insupportable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French, from Late Latin insupportabilis, from Latin in- + supportare to support

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of insupportable was circa 1530

Dictionary Entries Near insupportable

Cite this Entry

“Insupportable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insupportable. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

insupportable

adjective
in·​sup·​port·​able ˌin(t)-sə-ˈpōrt-ə-bəl How to pronounce insupportable (audio)
-ˈpȯrt-
1
: too bad to be endured
insupportable pain
2
: impossible to justify
insupportable charges
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