unmanageable
adjective
un·man·age·able
ˌən-ˈma-ni-jə-bəl 
: not manageable : difficult or impossible to control or manage
unmanageable hair
an almost unmanageable amount of data
The prisoner became unmanageable.
an unmanageable temper
an unmanageable number of students for one teacher
an unmanageable amount of debt
Synonyms
Examples of unmanageable in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The pandemic made a difficult profession harder: reports of mental-health crises, unmanageable classrooms, and staggering learning loss are everywhere.
—
Emma Green, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2023
Past that level, the dangers from intense flooding, wildfires, drought, heat waves, and species extinction could become unmanageable, scientists have said.
—Brad Plumer, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023
Swinging between wet and dry extremes is typical for California, but last winter’s rain, potentially intensified by climate change, was almost unmanageable.
—WIRED, 12 Oct. 2023
This part of October gets absolutely unmanageable with hit after hit after hit launching in the same week.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 29 Sep. 2023
This creates a level of stress and work that is nearly unmanageable.
—Roxane Gay, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2023
This is how the debt grows over time and can make the monthly payment unmanageable.
—Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2023
The crowd in Selma swelled to such an unmanageable size that day that state officials were forced at the last minute to cap the number of participants.
—Malina Saval, Variety, 19 Apr. 2023
But one way or another, the four pillars of all modern and stable societies (government, business, civil society, and media) will have to reconfigure their role in the social contract to avoid widespread social turmoil reaching unmanageable levels.
—Chandran Nair, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2023
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Emma Green, The New Yorker, 31 Oct. 2023
Past that level, the dangers from intense flooding, wildfires, drought, heat waves, and species extinction could become unmanageable, scientists have said.
—Brad Plumer, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Sep. 2023
Swinging between wet and dry extremes is typical for California, but last winter’s rain, potentially intensified by climate change, was almost unmanageable.
—WIRED, 12 Oct. 2023
This part of October gets absolutely unmanageable with hit after hit after hit launching in the same week.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 29 Sep. 2023
This creates a level of stress and work that is nearly unmanageable.
—Roxane Gay, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2023
This is how the debt grows over time and can make the monthly payment unmanageable.
—Michelle Singletary, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2023
The crowd in Selma swelled to such an unmanageable size that day that state officials were forced at the last minute to cap the number of participants.
—Malina Saval, Variety, 19 Apr. 2023
But one way or another, the four pillars of all modern and stable societies (government, business, civil society, and media) will have to reconfigure their role in the social contract to avoid widespread social turmoil reaching unmanageable levels.
—Chandran Nair, Fortune, 7 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unmanageable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1616, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near unmanageable
Cite this Entry
“Unmanageable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unmanageable. Accessed 7 Dec. 2023.
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