unendurable

adjective

un·​en·​dur·​able ˌən-in-ˈdu̇r-ə-bəl 

-ˈdyu̇r-,

-en-

: too unpleasant, painful, or difficult to accept or endure : not endurable : unbearable

unendurable suffering

… periods of unendurable stress and desperation.

—Oliver Sacks

unendurably

ˌən-in-ˈdu̇r-ə-blē 

-ˈdyu̇r-

-en-

adverb

an unendurably boring speech

unendurableness noun

Synonyms

• insufferable
• insupportable
• intolerable
• unbearable
• unsupportable

Examples of unendurable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Conversations attempted in line for the Berghain toilets have a success rate of about 25 percent, some of which must be attributed to one party’s desire to join the other in their stall, to more quickly put an end to the unendurable wait. —Frederick Kaufman, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024

And yet, these statements fail to convey any indication that the administration understands this wave of violence will not stop until the costs of Iran’s campaign of aggression become unendurable. —The Editors, National Review, 29 Jan. 2024

Hélène finds the awkward response of her social circle unendurable; people mean well, but are terrified of saying the wrong thing. —Catherine Bray, Variety, 4 Oct. 2023

How to endure the unendurable? —Eric Weiner, WSJ, 27 Aug. 2020

Even so, the suspense will be almost unendurable. —Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 7 Oct. 2021

Only then will Turkey be able to rebuild, not just in the physical sense but in the way someone rebuilds mental and emotional capacities after a long and increasingly unendurable incarceration. —Christopher De Bellaigue, The New York Review of Books, 16 Mar. 2023

Long-lasting peace is unendurable to human beings, and tidal waves of disturbance have to be created in this state of peace... —Guest Blogger, Discover Magazine, 19 Sep. 2013

The heat is unendurable, the work exhausting and deadly. —Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined above