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intolerability

intolerability

8.2
A state that is impossible to accept or bear
  • noun
  • /ɪnˌtɒlərəˈbɪləti/
translation icon : intolerabilidad
  • The intolerability of the noise made it impossible for him to concentrate.

Examples

  • While proponents of slavery also employed the analogy between worker and slave, socialists did so to emphasize the intolerability of wage labor.

    Academic text (2018)
  • It'll be the intolerability of continuing in this way.

  • "He had a knack for intolerability, Captain," Mon protested.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The intolerability of the situation forced her to make a difficult decision.

  • Many people protested against the intolerability of living conditions in the city.

Synonyms

unsavoriness
vsintolerability
  • US
1 9.3

A behavior that people find morally wrong or offensive

refers to being impossible to accept or endure, not only morally unpleasant
unbearableness
vsintolerability
7.0

A quality that makes pain or trouble very hard to stand

includes inability both to accept mentally and to withstand physically
unthinkability
vsintolerability
9.1

A situation that is too hard to imagine or accept

is about being impossible to accept or to endure rather than just unimaginable
unpalatableness
vsintolerability
9.9

A quality of being hard to accept in your mind or feelings

means impossible to accept or endure rather than simply hard to accept mentally
unpalatability
vsintolerability
9.2

An idea or decision that is hard to accept

is stronger, marking something impossible to accept or endure

Antonyms

How much people think something is good enough

tolerability
  • Specialized
1 6.7

How much a person or thing can accept without bad effects

How Acceptable

tolerability
  • Specialized
1 6.7
intolerability
8.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

intolerability = intolerable (transparent) = in + toler + able + ity

This is a regular noun formation from the adjective 'intolerable' meaning the state or quality of being intolerable.

Etymology

Intolerability comes from the common verb tolerate (from an old Latin word meaning 'to bear') and the in- part meaning 'not'. So intolerability is the state of being 'not able to bear' something, which is why we use it for things you cannot accept or endure.