impregnable en · ADJ · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /ɪmˈpɹɛɡ.nəˌb(ə)l/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Late Middle English imprenable, impregnable (“impossible to capture, impregnable”), from Old French imprenable (modern French imprenable (“impregnable”)), from im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + prenable (“(military) of a building, position, etc.: takable”) (from prendre (“to take”) + -able (suffix meaning ‘creating an effect or influence’)). Prendre is derived from Latin prēndere, present active infinitive of prēndō, a variant of prehendō (“to catch, lay hold of; to grasp; to grab, snatch; to seize, take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to find; to hold; to seize, take”). The intrusive g in the English word was modelled after words like deign and reign.
Meanings
-
Of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
Unerringly impelling this dead, impregnable, uninjurable wall, and this most buoyant thing within; there swims behind it all a mass of tremendous life, only to be adequately estimated as piled wood is—by the cord; and all obedient to one volition, as the smallest insect.
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The Battering-ram”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 376:Jurgis got up, wild with rage; but the door was shut and the great castle was dark and impregnable.
1905 April–October, Upton Sinclair, chapter XXV, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 26 February 1906, →OCLC, page 292:
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(figuratively) Too strong to be defeated or overcome; invincible.
And with Bolton suffering a wretched run of five straight home defeats – their worst run in 109 years – Chelsea fans would have been forgiven for expecting a comfortable win. But surely they did not anticipate the ease with which their team raced into an almost impregnable half-time lead.
2011 October 2, Jonathan Jurejko, “Bolton 1 – 5 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 31 Dec 2021:[A]s for the Friendſhip of the World; […] he may at laſt be no more able to get into the other's Heart, than he is to thruſt his Hand into a Pillar of Braſs. The Man's Affection, amidſt all theſe Kindneſſes done him, remaining wholly unconcerned, and impregnable; juſt like a Rock, which being plied continually by the Waves, ſtill throws them back again into the Boſom of the Sea that ſent them, but is not at all moved by any of them.
1664; first published 1694, Robert South, “A Sermon Preached before the University, at Christ-Church, Oxon, 1664”, in Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions. […], volume II, London: […] J[ohn] H[eptinstall] for Thomas Bennet […], →OCLC, page 76:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most impregnable | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more impregnable | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
pregnable · conquerable · unimpregnable · defeatable · pregnable · vincible
Deriveds
impregnability · impregnably · impregnableness
Synonyms
inconquerable · unconquerable · breachless · unassailable · undefeatable · inexpugnable
Translations (71)
sa अयोध्य (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · cmn 堅不可摧 /坚不可摧 (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · el ακυρίευτος (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ca inexpugnable (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ca impregnable (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · bg непревзимаем (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · el απόρθητος (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · it impenetrabile (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · fr imprenable (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · cs nedobytný (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · el απόρθητος (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · de unangreifbar (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ro impenetrabil (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · fi valloittamaton (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · it inattaccabile (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ru непристу́пный (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · de uneinnehmbar (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · yi אומאײַננעמיק (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · fi valloittamaton (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ko 난공불락 (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ja 難攻不落の (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · it inespugnabile (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · grc ἀνάλωτος (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ru недосту́пный (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · de unbezwingbar (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · fi murtumaton (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · cmn 險固 /险固 (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · sa अयोध्य (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · it imprendibile (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · nl ondoordringbaar (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ca impenetrable (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · hi अभेद्य (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · de uneinnehmbar (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · de sturmfrei (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · vi hiểm (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ga dochloíte (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ja 難攻不落 (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · it inespugnabile (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · la adamantinus (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · la inexpugnābilis (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · sh неосво̀јив (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ro impregnabil (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · it invulnerabile (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ga dochloíte (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ja 鉄壁 (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ca impenetrable (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ru неуязви́мый (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · fi järkähtämätön (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ro inexpugnabil (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · hu bevehetetlen (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · fi horjumaton (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · hu bevehetetlen (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · bg непревзимаем (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · gv neughowallagh (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · ca inexpugnable (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ro impregnabil (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · es inexpugnable (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · fi läpipääsemätön (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · fr imprenable (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ka შეუვალი (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · te అజేయము (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · el άπαρτος (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · cmn 固若金湯 /固若金汤 (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · de unbezwingbar (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · de unangreifbar (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · sh neosvòjiv (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · cs nedobytný (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable) · fi järkkymätön (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · ru непристу́пный (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · it inattaccabile (too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible) · fi läpäisemätön (of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable)