Meanings
comparative more unbearable · superlative most unbearable
- So unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable.
1 more example
The heat of the fire, the steam which arose from the dampening water, the hard slogging at the white-hot metal of the links, and the continual pulling of lengths of chain, were calculated to put a test on the strongest of men, and often on hot summer days they had to be sent home, for the work became unbearable.
1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, page 14Synonyms: insufferable, unsupportable, insupportable
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveSo unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveincapable of being tolerated or endured
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishunberable
- Englishunbearable
From Middle English unberable, equivalent to un- + bearable.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀφόρητος, ἄτλατος
- ἀφόρητος (aphórētos)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- ἄτλατος (átlatos)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Bulgarian нетърпим, непоносим
- нетърпим (netărpim)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- непоносим (neponosim)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Catalan insuportable, inaguantable
- insuportableso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- inaguantableso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- infumableso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Czech nesnesitelný
- nesnesitelnýso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Danish uudholdelig
- uudholdeligso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Dutch onuitstaanbaar
- onuitstaanbaarso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Esperanto neeltenebla
- neelteneblaso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Finnish kestämätön, sietämätön
- kestämätönso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- sietämätönso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
French invivable, insupportable
- invivableso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- insupportableso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
German unerträglich
- unerträglichso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Greek ανυπόφορος, αβίωτος
- ανυπόφορος (anypóforos)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- αβίωτος (avíotos)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Hungarian elviselhetetlen, kibírhatatlan
- elviselhetetlenso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- kibírhatatlanso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Icelandic óþolandi
- óþolandiso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Norwegian Bokmål uutholdelig, ulevelig
- uutholdeligso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- uleveligso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- ikke til å holde utso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Persian غِیرِ قابِل تَحَمُّل
- غِیرِ قابِل تَحَمُّلso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Polish nieznośny
- nieznośnyso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Portuguese insuportável
- insuportávelso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Romanian nesuportabil, insuportabil
- nesuportabilso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- insuportabilso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Russian невыноси́мый, нестерпи́мый
- невыноси́мый (nevynosímyj)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- нестерпи́мый (nesterpímyj)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Spanish insoportable, infumable
- insoportableso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- infumableso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
- inaguantableso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Swedish outhärdlig
- outhärdligso unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Ukrainian нестерпний
- нестерпний (nesterpnyj)so unpleasant or painful as to be unendurable
Cite this entry
unbearable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbearable
“unbearable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbearable. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unbearable,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbearable.
Source: unbearable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.