insufferable en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- audio
- /ɪnˈsʌfɹəb(ə)l/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
- ĭn-sŭf'ər-ə-bəl (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
- /ɪnˈsʌfəɹəb(ə)l/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Late Middle English insufferable (“unbearably painful, intolerable”), and then either: * from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + sufferable, souffrable (“bearable, endurable, tolerable; allowable, permissible; able to or willing to bear hardship; forbearing, long-suffering; calm, self-restrained, slow to anger; capable of suffering”) (from Anglo-Norman sufferable, souffrable, and Old French souffrable, suffrable (“sufferable, tolerable”)); or * from Old French insouffrable (“which cannot be endured or suffered; something insufferable or unendurable”) (now dialectal), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + souffrable, suffrable. From Old French souffrable, suffrable are derived from Medieval Latin sufferābilis, from Latin sufferre + -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able or worthy to be’); while sufferre is the present active infinitive of sufferō, subferō (“to bear or carry under; to bear, endure, suffer, undergo”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, under’) + ferō (“to bear, carry; to endure, suffer, tolerate”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)). The English word is analysable as in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + sufferable.
Meanings
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Not sufferable; very difficult or impossible to endure; intolerable, unbearable.
That the illumination should have been kindled by his cousin's husband was not precisely agreeable to Marvell, who thought Peter a bore in society and an insufferable nuisance on closer terms.
1913 October, Edith Wharton, chapter XIII, in The Custom of the Country, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 173:No, his good Meen, his Youth, and blooming Face / Tempt him to think, that vvith a better grace / Himſelf might ſit, and thou ſupply his place. / Behold there yet remains, vvhich muſt be born, / Proud Servants more inſufferable Scorn.
1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, W. Bowles, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Fifth Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 76:The oppressive heat has become insufferable in Syria – and as the temperature climbs, emotions get harder to contain.
2011 June 7, “Chaos in Syria: Are Army Deserters Helping to Arm the Opposition?”, in TIME, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 Sep 2011:It was of course familiar to me that Saltram was incapable of keeping the engagements which, after their separation, he had entered into with regard to his wife, a deeply wronged, justly resentful, quite irreproachable and insufferable person.
1894, Henry James, “The Coxon Fund. Chapter IV.”, in Terminations […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, published 1895, →OCLC, page 80:He heard and saw, and sought to free / His strain'd eye from the sight: / But Heaven's high magic bound it there, / Still gazing, though untaught to bear / Th' insufferable light.
1827, [John Keble], “The Conversion of St. Paul”, in The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holydays throughout the Year, volume II, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [B]y W. Baxter, for J. Parker; and C[harles] and J[ohn] Rivington, […], →OCLC, pages 111–112:This is insufferable! My dearest friend, I was never so enraged before, and must relieve myself by writing to you, who I know will enter into all my feelings.
c. 1794, Jane Austen, “[Lady Susan.] XXII. Lady Susan to Mrs. Johnson.”, in J[ames] E[dward] Austen[-]Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen: […] to which is Added Lady Susan and Fragments of Two Other Unfinished Tales by Miss Austen, 2nd edition, London: Richard Bentley and Son, […], published 1871, →OCLC, page 249:It became clear to me: guys who like Kafka—it’s never women—are insufferable.
2022 December 31, Anthony Cummins, quoting Nell Zink, “Nell Zink: ‘Guys who like Kafka are insufferable’”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 02 Apr 2023:"She had better have stayed at home," cried Elizabeth; "perhaps she meant well, but, under such a misfortune as this, one cannot see too little of one's neighbours. Assistance is impossible; condolence, insufferable. Let them triumph over us at a distance, and be satisfied."
1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter V, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume III, London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 108:She is sensible that a vain person is the most insufferable creature living in a well-bred assembly.
1712 July 22 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “FRIDAY, July 12, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 429; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 120:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more insufferable | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most insufferable | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
endurable · sufferable · tolerable · abideable · bearable · supportable
Deriveds
insufferableness · insufferably
Relateds
sufferable · suffer · unsufferable
Synonyms
unendurable · unabideable · insupportable · unsupportable · unsufferable
Translations (60)
uk несте́рпний (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · el ανυπόφορος (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · vi bất kham (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · es insoportable (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · gl insufríbel (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · nl ontoelaatbaar (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · it insopportabile (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · hy անտանելի (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · th เหลืออด (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · grc ἄλαστος (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ro insuportabil (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · fr haïssable (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · is ólíðandi (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · nl onbestaanbaar (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · hy թշվառ (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · es insufrible (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · sh nepodnòšljiv (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · hi दंभी (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · bg нетърпим (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ru невыноси́мый (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · sv odräglig (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · sh неподно̀шљив (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · az dözülməz (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · pt insuportável (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ro nerăbdabil (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · el αβάσταχτος (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ast insoportable (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · fi sietämätön (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · cs nesnesitelný (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · de untragbar (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ka აუტანელი (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · th เหลือทน (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · wyi man-doin-qua-neen (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · vi không thể chịu đựng được (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · it insoffribile (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ca intolerable (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · nl bij de konijnen af (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · es no haber quien lo aguante (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · hu lehetetlen (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · fr intolérable (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · gv neuhurransagh (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · vi bất nhẫn (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · it intollerabile (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · nl onduldbaar (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · gd do-ghiùlan (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · nl bij de beesten af (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ro nesuferibil (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · de unausstehlich (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · la impetibilis (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · es inaguantable (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · pl nieznośny (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ro nesuportabil (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · ca insuportable (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · cmn 難以忍受的 /难以忍受的 (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · de unerträglich (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · fr insupportable (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · pt intolerável (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · la intolerāns (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · bg непоносим (not sufferable — see also intolerable) · lt abúojas (not sufferable — see also intolerable)