ˌən-ˈpärd-nə-bəl
as in unacceptable
too bad to be excused or justified
regards cruelty to animals as an unpardonable sin
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Recent Examples of unpardonable
More to the point: Doing nothing would be unpardonable.
—
Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 27 Nov. 2025
If Sam is wrong, his journalistic sin is unpardonable.
—Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 13 May 2025
Attacking innocent citizens, in this case tourists, is utterly appalling and unpardonable.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
Alone in George’s office, Roger commits the unpardonable offense of reading his notebook.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Trump’s explicit threats against the Bidens, and his record of trying to politicize the Justice Department and FBI, almost justify an unpardonable pardon, columnist Jackie Calmes writes.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024
In her small and deeply Catholic community, suicide is an unpardonable sin, so a horrible crime lures her with the promise of escape.
—Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2024
As her recent award accolades attest, Zine was a force of nature from first take to last, the conduit through which the viewer experiences the dread, horror, anguish and grief of witnessing her father murdered for the unpardonable sin of speaking his truth.
—Alexander Woo, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 June 2024
Insulting you for complimenting him was unpardonable.
—Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 9 Aug. 2023
Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 27 Nov. 2025
If Sam is wrong, his journalistic sin is unpardonable.
—Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 13 May 2025
Attacking innocent citizens, in this case tourists, is utterly appalling and unpardonable.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Apr. 2025
Alone in George’s office, Roger commits the unpardonable offense of reading his notebook.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Feb. 2025
Trump’s explicit threats against the Bidens, and his record of trying to politicize the Justice Department and FBI, almost justify an unpardonable pardon, columnist Jackie Calmes writes.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024
In her small and deeply Catholic community, suicide is an unpardonable sin, so a horrible crime lures her with the promise of escape.
—Taylor Antrim, Vogue, 29 Sep. 2024
As her recent award accolades attest, Zine was a force of nature from first take to last, the conduit through which the viewer experiences the dread, horror, anguish and grief of witnessing her father murdered for the unpardonable sin of speaking his truth.
—Alexander Woo, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 June 2024
Insulting you for complimenting him was unpardonable.
—Nicholas Ivor Martin and Jacobina Martin, oregonlive, 9 Aug. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unpardonable
Adjective
-
Antisemitism has no place in our city, and violence or intimidation against Jewish New Yorkers is unacceptable.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
These actions, coupled with her own words, reveal an unacceptable disdain for our constitutional system of checks and balances.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Except, apparently, among the Hoosiers who play football as if not playing football hard would be an unforgivable sin.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
-
That’s just bad, but what’s unforgivable is how flippantly King of the Monsters inverts the atomic metaphor that begat Godzilla.—
James Grebey,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
For a law purportedly designed to help people treat their mental health conditions, this is an inexcusable outcome.—
Sakeena Trice,
New York Daily News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Particularly inexcusable was a delay of game to begin Miami’s final possession.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
20 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Time away from her family felt increasingly unjustifiable.—
Esha Chhabra,
Forbes.com,
16 Jan. 2026
-
There are some problematic cases already in the Hall, and the inconsistency grows increasingly unjustifiable.—
The Athletic MLB Staff,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
One year, countless outrageous ensembles and quippy one-liners later, viewers still can’t get enough of her.—
Colleen Kratofil,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The Lakers broke the NBA with that trade a year ago; a repeat event would be pretty outrageous, even for this franchise.—
Broderick Turner,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
The collective rejection of ICE’s brutal and indefensible assault on Minneapolis is part of a larger wave of solidarity against the federal government.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
-
But by the late 1950s, ICBMs emerged – and these deadly intercontinental ballistic missiles presented North America with a more insidious (and for a long time, indefensible) threat.—
Barry Scott Zellen,
Hartford Courant,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Conservatives and Republicans in Congress continue to claim that the cost of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits is an insupportable burden on America, so benefits need to be cut, though President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to preserve entitlements like Social Security and Medicare.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Jan. 2025
-
There are people of goodwill who think the way out of this insupportable situation lies in the fight for equal democratic rights in a single state for everyone living in the territory between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.—
Michelle Goldberg,
The Mercury News,
14 Mar. 2024
Adjective
-
That contraction represents a vicious cycle.—
Chris O'Falt,
IndieWire,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Benedict doesn’t realize that the woman who has entirely captured his attention is Sophie, the maid for the formidable Araminta Gun (Katie Leung), aka Lady Penwood and her daughters, the vicious and self-absorbed Rosamund Li (Michelle Mao) and the sweet but simple Posy Li (Isabella Wei).—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
29 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unpardonable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unpardonable. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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