insuperable

Examples

• All

• The team faced an insuperable challenge when their funding was suddenly revoked.

• We find that Lindbeck's constructive thesis encounters two insuperable difficulties.

  Academic text (1991)

• However, these concerns may not prove to be insuperable.

  Academic text (2004)

• Today's piece notes a couple of ways to deal with what seems to be an insuperable problem.

  Blog text (19)

• The mere use of that phrase brought up insuperable political difficulties.

  Academic text (1990)

• In this way, a certain barrier had been overcome that earlier seemed insuperable to the members of the Polish community.

  Academic text (1994)

• There was, however, one seemingly insuperable obstacle.

  Academic text (1991)

• The problems of incorporating a black slave population of four million into the body politic appeared insuperable to Lincoln himself.

  Academic text (2011)

• But if that is the special problem that some liberal theories confront, it hardly seems insuperable.

  Academic text (1990)

• I had hit upon the kernel of the idea, but the implementation loomed like an insuperable barrier.

  Fiction book (1996)

Synonyms

I

insurmountable

vsinsuperable

33 8.5

Impossible to get past

is the same but stresses outright impossibility rather than great difficulty

U

unbeatable

vsinsuperable

30 3.4

Very hard to beat in a contest, like a team or player

emphasizes impossibility for barriers rather than competitive contests

I

intractable

vsinsuperable

22 8.7

Hard to manage, change, or control

focuses on being impossible to overcome rather than merely hard to manage

U

unassailable

vsinsuperable

11 8.0

So strong that no one can attack, defeat, or prove it wrong

overlaps in defeat but focuses more on attack and challenge aspects

I

impregnable

vsinsuperable

10 7.9

Too strong and well protected for anyone to capture or defeat

applies the same idea mainly to obstacles, not physical defense

U

unconquerable

vsinsuperable

4 7.3

Too strong for anyone to defeat

applies the same impossibility specifically to barriers or challenges

I

insoluble

vsinsuperable

3 7.5

Too difficult to solve or deal with, like a problem

matches this sense but centers on barriers and defeat rather than solutions

U

undefeatable

vsinsuperable

2 4.9

Too strong for anyone to beat

is the same idea but used about obstacles and challenges specifically

U

unbridgeable

vsinsuperable

1 8.0

A gap too large to be closed or fixed

is similar but covers obstacles in general, not only gaps or bridges

U

undoable

vsinsuperable

1 4.9

Not possible to do because of little time or no help

focuses impossibility specifically on obstacles rather than any task

U

unsurmountable

vsinsuperable

1 8.1

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

matches this use but in slightly more formal wording

U

unbreachable

vsinsuperable

1 7.7

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

uses the same impossibility idea but for abstract obstacles too

I

insolvable

vsinsuperable

1 8.1

No one can find an answer to it

shares impossibility but applies more to physical or practical obstacles

I

irremediable

vsinsuperable

1 9.6

Not able to be fixed or made better

differs by highlighting irreversibility rather than inability to be overcome

U

unvanquishable

vsinsuperable

9.9

Cannot be defeated

focuses this impossibility on difficulties and obstacles rather than people

I

inexpugnable

vsinsuperable

9.9

No one can beat or prove it wrong

is similar but focuses more on practical obstacles than refutation

U

unsubduable

vsinsuperable

9.9

Not able to be defeated or controlled

is similar but more often used about challenges rather than control

U

unsoluble

vsinsuperable

9.4

Not able to be fixed or changed

is similar but used especially for obstacles rather than abstract problems

Antonyms

M

manageable

57 3.2

Easy to deal with

S

surmountable

2 4.8

Possible to get past or deal with

How Difficult

insuperable

• Formal

2 9.1

formidable

133 7.0

difficult

∞ 1.6

challenging

183 4.4

manageable

57 3.2

easy

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology