insupportable

[ in-suh-pawr-tuh-buhl, -pohr- ]

adjective

1. not endurable; unbearable; insufferable:

   insupportable pain.

2. incapable of support or justification, as by evidence or collected facts:

   an insupportable accusation.

insupportable

/ ˌɪnsəˈpɔːtəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being endured; intolerable; insufferable
2. incapable of being supported or justified; indefensible

Derived Forms

• ˌinsupˈportableness, noun
• ˌinsupˈportably, adverb

Other Words From

• insup·porta·ble·ness insup·porta·bili·ty noun
• insup·porta·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of insupportable¹

From the Late Latin word insupportābilis, dating back to 1520–30. See in- ³, supportable

Example Sentences

But given how the Biden case unfolded, it would have been insupportable to have a special counsel for one and not for the other.

From Washington Post

The long-running myth that the rebel generals had no connection to racism became insupportable when contemporary white supremacists swaddled themselves in Confederate symbols.

From Seattle Times

Most people would have termed her a splendid woman of her age: and so she was, no doubt, physically speaking; but then there was an expression of almost insupportable haughtiness in her bearing and countenance.

From Literature

We are as a society — and by "we" I mean virtually all of us on the planet — brought up to believe howling absurdities, ridiculous impossibilities, and insupportable malarkey from our very first moments on Earth.

From Salon

“That position is insupportable as a matter of precedent and common sense,” he wrote.

From New York Times