Meanings
impregnable1
comparative more impregnable · superlative most impregnable
- governmentOf a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
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 2921 more example
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 376Synonyms: breachless, inexpugnable, unassailable · Antonyms: pregnable, unimpregnable
- figurativelyToo 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 20211 more example
[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 76Synonyms: inconquerable, unconquerable, undefeatable · Antonyms: conquerable, defeatable, pregnable, vincible
impregnable2
comparative more impregnable · superlative most impregnable
- Capable of being impregnated; impregnatable.
The reproductive strategies of troop members, especially those of impregnable females, are suggested to influence patterns of range use.
1979 November, Dennis R. Rasmussen, “Correlates of Patterns of Range Use of a Troop of Yellow Baboons (Papio cynocephalus). I. Sleeping Sites, Impregnable Females, Births, and Male Emigrations and Immigrations.”, in Animal Behaviour, volume 27, number 4, New York, N.Y.: Elsevier Science Pub. Co., →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, abstract, page 1098Antonyms: unimpregnable
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveOf a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
adjectiveToo strong to be defeated or overcome; invincible.
adjectiveCapable of being impregnated; impregnatable.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveimmune to attack; incapable of being tampered with
adjectivecapable of conceiving
adjectiveincapable of being overcome, challenged or refuted
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
impregnable · adjective
- Proto-Indo-European*gʰed-“to find; to hold; to seize, take”
- Latinprēndere
- Old Frenchimprenable
- Middle Englishimprenable
- Englishimpregnable
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.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →impregnable · adjective
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-“to beget; to give birth; to produce”
- Latinim-
- Late Latinimpraegnātus“made pregnant”
- Englishimpregnable
PIE word *h₁én From impregnate (verb) + -able (suffix meaning ‘able or fit to be done’ forming adjectives). Impregnate is either derived from impregnate (“pregnant”, adjective), or from its etymon Medieval Latin or Late Latin impraegnātus (“made pregnant”), past participle of impraegnō (“to make pregnant”), from Latin im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’)) + praegnāre (“pregnant”) (from praegnāns, a variant of praegnās (“pregnant”), from prae- (prefix meaning ‘before; in front’) + *gnāscor (archaic), nāscor (“to be born; to grow, spring forth; to arise, proceed”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”)).
More words from Late Latin, Latin, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀνάλωτος
- ἀνάλωτος (análōtos)too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Bulgarian непревзимаем, непревзимаем
- непревзимаем (neprevzimaem)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- непревзимаем (neprevzimaem)too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Catalan impregnable, impenetrable
- impregnableof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- impenetrableof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- inexpugnableof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- impenetrabletoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- inexpugnabletoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Chinese Mandarin 固若金湯 /固若金汤, 堅不可摧 /坚不可摧
- 固若金湯 /固若金汤 (gùruòjīntāng)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- 堅不可摧 /坚不可摧 (jiānbùkěcuī)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- 險固 /险固 (xiǎngù)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
Czech nedobytný, nedobytný
- nedobytnýof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- nedobytnýtoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Dutch ondoordringbaar
- ondoordringbaarof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
Finnish läpipääsemätön, läpäisemätön
- läpipääsemätönof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- läpäisemätönof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- murtumatonof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- valloittamatonof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- horjumatontoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- järkähtämätöntoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- järkkymätöntoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- valloittamatontoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- hedelmällinencapable of being impregnated
French imprenable, imprenable
- imprenableof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- imprenabletoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- imprégnablecapable of being impregnated
German sturmfrei, unangreifbar
- sturmfreiof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- unangreifbarof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- unbezwingbarof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- uneinnehmbarof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- unangreifbartoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- unbezwingbartoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- uneinnehmbartoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Greek άπαρτος, απόρθητος
- άπαρτος (ápartos)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- απόρθητος (apórthitos)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- ακυρίευτος (akyríeftos)too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- απόρθητος (apórthitos)too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Hindi अभेद्य
- अभेद्य (abhedya)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
Hungarian bevehetetlen, bevehetetlen
- bevehetetlenof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- bevehetetlentoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Irish dochloíte, dochloíte
- dochloíteof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- dochloítetoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Italian impenetrabile, inespugnabile
- impenetrabileof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- inespugnabileof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- inattaccabileof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- imprendibiletoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- inespugnabiletoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- invulnerabiletoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- inattaccabiletoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Japanese 鉄壁, 難攻不落
- 鉄壁 (teppeki)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- 難攻不落 (nankōfuraku)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- 難攻不落の (nankoufuraku no)too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- 受精可能な (juseikanou na)capable of being impregnated
- 受胎可能な (jutaikanou na)capable of being impregnated
Korean 난공불락
- 난공불락 (nan'gongbullak)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
Latin adamantinus, inexpugnābilis
- adamantinusof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- inexpugnābilisof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
Romanian impregnabil, impregnabil
- impregnabilof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- impregnabiltoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- inexpugnabiltoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- impenetrabiltoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Russian непристу́пный, недосту́пный
- непристу́пный (nepristúpnyj)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
- недосту́пный (nedostúpnyj)too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- непристу́пный (nepristúpnyj)too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- неуязви́мый (neujazvímyj)too strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
Spanish inexpugnable, impregnable
- inexpugnabletoo strong to be defeated or overcome — see also invincible
- impregnablecapable of being impregnated
- fértilcapable of being impregnated
Vietnamese hiểm
- hiểmof a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
Yiddish אומאײַננעמיק
- אומאײַננעמיק (umaynnemik)of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks — see also impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable
Cite this entry
impregnable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impregnable
“impregnable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impregnable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “impregnable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impregnable.
Source: impregnable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.