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untraversable

untraversable

1 9.1
Not possible to cross by people or vehicles
  • adjective
  • /ʌnˈtrævərsəbl/
translation icon : intransitable
  • The thick jungle was deemed untraversable due to the dense underbrush and wild animals.

Examples

  • According to Michel Foucault, there exists an untraversable and eternal chasm separating the two.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Similarly, the emergence of culture-infected hominids has opened up yet another region of hitherto unoccupied and untraversable design space.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The mountain range was so steep and jagged that it seemed entirely untraversable without specialized equipment.

  • After the heavy rains, the river swelled and created an untraversable barrier, cutting off the village from the town.

Synonyms

impenetrable
vsuntraversable
19 7.3

Not possible to enter or go through

focuses specifically on inability to travel across routes or ground
impassable
vsuntraversable
13 5.3

A road, path, or area you cannot travel through

is the general term for impossibility of travel across
uncrossable
vsuntraversable
1 5.6

Too dangerous or blocked to go across

is used for the same travel impossibility but focusing on crossing
unbridgeable
vsuntraversable
1 8.0

A gap too large to be closed or fixed

applies to broader or metaphorical gaps rather than pure travel limits
unpassable
vsuntraversable
1 6.9

A road or path that people cannot cross

is the neutral expression focusing on inability to travel through
unbreachable
vsuntraversable
1 7.7

So strong that no one can break into or get past it

refers instead to simple travel impossibility rather than forceful breach
impassible
vsuntraversable
9.2

Impossible to travel through because obstacles block the way

has the same meaning but differs only in form

Antonyms

1 5.7

People can cross it by walking or driving

3.5

Can be crossed by walking or driving

How Traversable

traversable
1 5.7
passable
4 3.5
untraversable
1 9.1

Surface Forms

untraversable positive

Morphology

untraversable = traversable (transparent) = un + traverse + able

Direct negative prefixation of the adjective 'traversable'; the meaning 'not able to be traversed' follows standard English formation.

Etymology

The word untraversable is made of un- 'not', the part traverse 'to go across', like in transport, and -able 'able to'. So untraversable means 'not able to be crossed', which is why we use it for places you cannot travel through.