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unclimbable

unclimbable

1 4.7
Not possible to go up because it is too steep or dangerous
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈklaɪməbl/
translation icon : inexpugnable
  • Moss can't do that, because an unclimbable fence is in the way.
  • an unclimbable wall

So that's pretty much unclimbable, at least for my risk tolerance, you know, and we're talking hundreds of mile an hour winds.

Examples

  • Ahead of them lay a wall of stone, maybe a hundred feet high, jagged and unclimbable.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I'm afraid this mountain is unclimbable.

  • To a cat, nothing is unclimbable!

  • Therefore, the need to build an unclimbable wall between reviewers and PR, as difficult as it may be, is so important.

    Blog text (21)
  • So that's pretty much unclimbable, at least for my risk tolerance, you know, and we're talking hundreds of mile an hour winds.

  • I had to cross impassable seas, unclimbable mountains and really nasty midtown traffic.

  • Ahead of them lay a wall of stone, maybe a hundred feet high, jagged and unclimbable.

  • The granite pillar is one of the most stunning sights in Wyoming's Wind River Range, but the sheer, clean walls look unclimbable.

Synonyms

insurmountable
vsunclimbable
33 8.5

Impossible to get past

is narrower, referring to not being possible to go up physically
insuperable
vsunclimbable
  • Formal
2 9.1

So hard that no one can get past it

focuses on not being possible to go up rather than beating a challenge
unscalable
vsunclimbable
1 7.5

Too steep to climb, for example a high wall or cliff

is specifically about being impossible to go up physically
unsurmountable
vsunclimbable
1 8.1

Impossible to overcome or get past, like a problem you cannot solve

is about physical inability to go up rather than facing a problem

Antonyms

2.0

Something you can go up using your hands and feet, like a tree or wall

How Climbable

easy
1.0
climbable
2.0
difficult
1.6
unclimbable
1 4.7

Surface Forms

unclimbable positive

Morphology

unclimbable = climbable (transparent) = un + climb + able

The relation is a straightforward negation of 'climbable' ('able to be climbed'); learners who know 'climb' and '-able' will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Unclimbable is easy to break down: un- means 'not', climb means 'to go up', and -able means 'can be done'. So unclimbable means 'not able to be climbed', something you cannot climb, like a very smooth wall or a steep icy cliff.