intractable

adjective

in·​trac·​ta·​ble (ˌ)in-ˈtrak-tə-bəl 

1

: not easily governed, managed, or directed

intractable problems

2

: not easily relieved or cured

intractable pain

3

: not easily manipulated or shaped

intractable metal

intractability

(ˌ)in-ˌtrak-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

intractably

(ˌ)in-ˈtrak-tə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• balky
• contrary
• contumacious
• defiant
• disobedient
• froward
• incompliant
• insubordinate
• obstreperous
• rebel
• rebellious
• recalcitrant
• recusant
• refractory
• restive
• ungovernable
• unruly
• untoward
• wayward
• willful
• wilful

Choose the Right Synonym for intractable

unruly, ungovernable, intractable, refractory, recalcitrant, willful, headstrong mean not submissive to government or control.

unruly implies lack of discipline or incapacity for discipline and often connotes waywardness or turbulence of behavior.

unruly children

ungovernable implies either an escape from control or guidance or a state of being unsubdued and incapable of controlling oneself or being controlled by others.

ungovernable rage

intractable suggests stubborn resistance to guidance or control.

intractable opponents of the hazardous-waste dump

refractory stresses resistance to attempts to manage or to mold.

special schools for refractory children

recalcitrant suggests determined resistance to or defiance of authority.

acts of sabotage by a recalcitrant populace

willful implies an obstinate determination to have one's own way.

a willful disregard for the rights of others

headstrong suggests self-will impatient of restraint, advice, or suggestion.

a headstrong young cavalry officer

Examples of intractable in a Sentence

Contrary to the idea of black holes sucking everything, even light, into inconceivable nothingness, Hawking proposed that there was one thing that could escape a black hole's intractable grip: thermal radiation … —Bruno Maddox, Discover, September 2006

Sepsis, which is what happens to the body when an infection goes bad, is one of mankind's oldest and most intractable foes. —Leon Jaroff, Time, 24 July 2000

But now anesthesiologists have begun turning to an herb to help treat a deadly and often intractable lung condition that affects hundreds of thousands of people a year. —Eric Nagourney, New York Times, 26 Oct. 1999

a patient experiencing intractable pain

an intractable child who deliberately does the opposite of whatever he is told

Recent Examples on the Web

Perhaps the city’s current crises—crumbling public infrastructure, intractable civic strife, the President’s attempts to strangle his home town—have reminded New Yorkers of a different period of chaos, when Cuomo seemed a beacon of sanity. —Eric Lach, New Yorker, 5 May 2025

Fresh off its unqualified diplomatic successes with the Russians, the Iranians, and Hamas’s terrorists and their intermediaries, the Trump administration is reportedly gearing up to resolve another of the world’s seemingly intractable conundrums: North Korea and its nuclear arsenal. —Noah Rothman, National Review, 28 Apr. 2025

Overdose deaths in the United States fell by nearly 30,000 last year, the government reported on Wednesday, the strongest sign yet that the country is making progress against one of its deadliest, most intractable public health crises. —Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 15 May 2025

And that represented a historic decline to an intractable problem. —Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin intractābilis, from in- in- entry 1 + tractābilis "manageable, tractable"

First Known Use

1531, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for intractable

• tractable
• extractable
• retractable

Kids Definition

intractable

adjective

in·​trac·​ta·​ble (ˈ)in-ˈtrak-tə-bəl 

1

: not easily managed or controlled

an intractable child

2

: not easily relieved or cured

intractable pain

intractability

(ˌ)in-ˌtrak-tə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

intractably

(ˈ)in-ˈtrak-tə-blē 

adverb

Medical Definition

intractable

adjective

in·​trac·​ta·​ble (ˈ)in-ˈtrak-tə-bəl 

1

: not easily managed or controlled (as by antibiotics or psychotherapy)

an intractable child

activity against many intractable Proteus and Pseudomonas species of bacteria

—Annual Report Pfizer

2

: not easily relieved or cured

intractable pain

intractable bleeding in duodenal ulcer

—The Journal of the American Medical Association

intractability

(ˌ)in-ˌtrak-tə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

plural intractabilities