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Showing results for insurmountable. Search instead for Insurmountableness.
Synonyms

insurmountable

American  
[in-ser-moun-tuh-buhl] / ˌɪn sərˈmaʊn tə bəl /

adjective

  1. incapable of being surmounted, passed over, or overcome; insuperable.

    an insurmountable obstacle.
insurmountable British  
/ ˌɪnsəˈmaʊntəbəl /

adjective

  1. incapable of being overcome; insuperable

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • insurmountability noun
  • insurmountableness noun
  • insurmountably adverb

Etymology

Origin of insurmountable

First recorded in 1690–1700; in- 3 + surmountable ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

UConn faced a seemingly insurmountable deficit against Duke in the Elite Eight.

From The Wall Street Journal

This was the closest thing that college basketball had to an insurmountable margin.

From The Wall Street Journal

But she said the challenge was not insurmountable.

From Barron's

“If the company can now redesign their operations from the ground up to be AI-forward, their potential cost and performance advantage could be insurmountable,” Shmulik wrote.

From MarketWatch

“If the company can now redesign their operations from the ground up to be AI-forward, their potential cost and performance advantage could be insurmountable,” Shmulik wrote.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.