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unnavigable

unnavigable

1 8.7
Too difficult to travel through, for example a river, sea or road
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈnævɪɡəbl/
translation icon : intransitable
  • The river is unnavigable when it hits his thighs.
  • unnavigable waters
  • become unnavigable

Examples

  • The storm made the river unnavigable, forcing ships to find alternative routes.

  • Then just a small section of the river became unnavigable, but it cost the shipping industry $1 billion.

    Blog text (9)
  • But everyone knows the river is unnavigable.

  • Most shoreline communities are unnavigable.

    Blog text (24)
  • OK, not only did my physical junk mail increase, but my e-mail became unnavigable through all the new spam messages.

  • The rapids were strong here, but he didn't think they were unnavigable.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Always something unnavigable.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • Swift unnavigable waters, swinging screaming baboons, sleeping snakes, red gums ready for their sweet white blood...

    Academic text (1996)
  • He hates it when you don't make sure there's enough room to work around your tables. At the height of dinner service, sometimes you have only six inches of space between chair backs, and the path from the kitchen line to the tables in the back becomes labyrinthine, if not unnavigable.

    Academic text (2007)
  • ... gasoline doesn't fall out of the sky but has to be delivered via oceans and waterways that were unnavigable due to the storm and roads and bridges that are either super-congested or were damaged, submerged, or washed away by the floods.

    Blog text (2)

Synonyms

inaccessible
vsunnavigable
28 7.9

Not able to be reached, used, or understood

applies to places that are hard for boats to reach or pass
impassable
vsunnavigable
13 5.3

A road, path, or area you cannot travel through

is focused on waterways that boats cannot navigate
unapproachable
vsunnavigable
1 7.1

Hard to reach because it is far away or blocked

is about lack of access for boats rather than people approaching
untraversable
vsunnavigable
1 9.1

Not possible to cross by people or vehicles

is about routes that boats or ships cannot travel through
unpassable
vsunnavigable
1 6.9

A road or path that people cannot cross

refers specifically to water routes that boats cannot use
impassible
vsunnavigable
9.2

Impossible to travel through because obstacles block the way

involves difficulty for boats moving through a waterway

Antonyms

3 5.0

A waterway deep and wide enough for ships to travel safely

How Navigable

navigable
3 5.0
passable
4 3.5
difficult
1.6
unnavigable
1 8.7

Surface Forms

unnavigable positive

Morphology

unnavigable = navigable (transparent) = un + navigate + able

The adjective is formed by adding the productive negating prefix 'un-' to 'navigable', yielding a direct negation 'not navigable'.

Etymology

Unnavigable breaks into un- 'not', navigate from an old word for 'ship' or 'to sail' and seen in navy, and -able 'able to'. So unnavigable means 'not able to be sailed through', which is why we use it for rivers or roads boats cannot travel.