intolerable

adjective

in·​tol·​er·​a·​ble (ˌ)in-ˈtä-lə-rə-bəl 

-ˈtäl-rə-,

-ˈtä-lər-bəl

1

: not tolerable : unbearable

intolerable pain

2

: excessive

intolerability

(ˌ)in-ˌtä-lə-rə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

-ˌtäl-rə-

-ˌtä-lər-

noun

intolerableness

(ˌ)in-ˈtä-lə-rə-bəl-nəs 

-ˈtäl-rə-

-ˈtä-lər-bəl-

noun

intolerably

(ˌ)in-ˈtä-lə-rə-blē 

-ˈtäl-rə-

-ˈtä-lər-blē

adverb

Synonyms

• unbearable

Examples of intolerable in a Sentence

She divorced him on the grounds of intolerable cruelty.

this stifling heat is intolerable

Recent Examples on the Web

Such is the state of affairs that workers often stay silent until conditions become intolerable and the fear of the status quo outweighs the fear of retaliation, Ravi said. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 8 Sep. 2025

My actions were inexcusable and intolerable. —Ilana Kaplan, People.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Look at all this intolerable material! —Elina Landman, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025

Anything that would be satisfactory to Ukraine, in terms of its own security, is intolerable to Russia, and contradicts why Putin launched this invasion in the first place. —Ian Crouch, New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin intolerabilis, from in- + tolerabilis tolerable

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for intolerable

• tolerable

Kids Definition

intolerable

adjective

in·​tol·​er·​a·​ble (ˈ)in-ˈtäl-(ə-)rə-bəl 

-ˈtäl-ər-bəl

: not tolerable : unbearable

intolerable pain

intolerability

(ˌ)in-ˌtäl-(ə-)rə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

intolerably

(ˈ)in-ˈtäl-(ə-)rə-blē 

-ˈtäl-ər-blē

adverb