insoluble

comparative more insoluble · superlative most insoluble

1. physicalchemistryThat cannot be dissolved.

   Petroleum is largely insoluble in water.

   Synonyms: indissoluble, undissolvable · Antonyms: soluble, dissoluble, dissolvable

2. That cannot be solved.

   This dispute, as already stated was insoluble in the ideological context in which it took place.

   1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 253

   1 more example

   The reason Fisher concluded that the problem is likely insoluble is that the ability of real-world agents to act on new perceived opportunities of arbitrage – including those that turn out to be incorrect – makes stability impossible to demonstrate without additional strong (and unrealistic) assumptions.

   2024, Jeremy B. Rudd, A Practical Guide to Macroeconomics, page 3

   Synonyms: insolvable, unsolvable · Antonyms: soluble, solvable

3. That cannot be explained.

   Near-synonyms: unexplained, mysterious; see also Thesaurus:incomprehensible, Thesaurus:mysterious

   Synonyms: inexplicable, unexplainable, unexplained, mysterious, abstruse, Chinese, dense, enigmatic · Antonyms: soluble, solvable

4. That cannot be broken down or dispersed.

   Synonyms: indissoluble, undissolvable · Antonyms: soluble, dissoluble, dissolvable

plural insolubles

1. Any substance that cannot be dissolved.

   As there is a partial vacuum inside the drum, the liquid is sucked inside the drum and the insolubles are deposited on the outer surface of the membrane filter.

   2006, Ashok Pandey, Enzyme Technology, page 518