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Glite Dictionary
🧱 Hard to control 🖥️ Too hard to solve
intractability

intractability

9.9
A problem that needs too much time to solve exactly
  • noun
  • /ɪnˌtræktəˈbɪlɪti/
  • Specialized
translation icon : intractabilidad
  • The intractability of the problem made it impossible for researchers to find an efficient solution.

You maybe discovered that or show that this this problem is NP complete and now you're in the intractability domain.

Examples

  • Many complex problems in computer science are known for their intractability, requiring substantial computational resources.

  • You maybe discovered that or show that this this problem is NP complete and now you're in the intractability domain.

    MIT OpenCourseWare

  • The team's inability to solve the equation highlighted the intractability of the mathematical challenge they faced.

Synonyms

hardness
vsintractability
5.3

How difficult something is to do or understand

is the formal computational property of needing super polynomial time in worst cases

How Hard

undecidability
  • Specialized
9.9
intractability
  • Specialized
9.9
hardness
5.3
solvability
1 5.5
tractability
  • Specialized
8.3

Surface Forms

intractability singular
intractabilities plural

Morphology

intractability = intractable (semi-transparent) = in + tract + able + ity

Formally the noun of 'intractable', but in the technical/computational sense the term denotes a specialized complexity-theory property not fully predictable from everyday senses.

Etymology

Intractability in computing uses the same parts in- 'not' and tract 'to pull', like in tractor. So an intractable problem cannot be 'pulled' into a quick answer and needs a very long time to solve even with fast computers, which is why intractability here means a problem cannot be solved quickly.