impregnable

adjective

im·​preg·​na·​ble im-ˈpreg-nə-bəl How to pronounce impregnable (audio)
1
: incapable of being taken by assault : unconquerable
an impregnable fortress
2
: unassailable
also : impenetrable
impregnable walls
impregnability noun
impregnableness noun
impregnably adverb

Did you know?

Impregnable is one of the many English words that bear a French ancestry, thanks to the Norman conquest of England in 1066. It derives from the Middle French verb prendre, which means "to take or capture." Combining prendre with various prefixes has given our language many other words, too, including surprise, reprise, and enterprise. Remarkably, impregnable has a different origin from the similar-looking word pregnant; that word comes from a different Latin word, praegnas, meaning "carrying a fetus."

Examples of impregnable in a Sentence

an impregnable fortress that had foiled one invader after another over the centuries the castle's supposedly impregnable walls
Recent Examples on the Web His party lost a majority of seats in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, once considered an impregnable fortress for his brand of Hindu nationalism and identity politics. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Foreign Affairs, 14 June 2024 Once when told that a certain French fortress was impregnable and once when told that his mother-in-law had died. Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 25 Mar. 2024 Inflation is a currency phenomenon, which means that Summers et al are floating non sequiturs rooted in the absurd notion that the U.S. economy is an impregnable island of economic activity, as opposed to an interconnected part of a global whole. John Tamny, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 Some Wall Street analysts agree with Belloni and his tweet that the fact Netflix’s competitors license content to it is a sign of its impregnable position atop the streaming heap. Paolo Confino, Fortune, 7 Jan. 2024 See all Example Sentences for impregnable 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impregnable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English imprenable, from Middle French, from in- + prenable vulnerable to capture, from prendre to take — more at prize

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of impregnable was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near impregnable

Cite this Entry

“Impregnable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impregnable. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

impregnable

adjective
im·​preg·​na·​ble im-ˈpreg-nə-bəl How to pronounce impregnable (audio)
: not able to be captured by assault : unconquerable
an impregnable fortress
impregnably adverb

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