insurmountable

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˌɪnsɜrˈmaʊntəbəl/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Impossible to overcome, surmount, or conquer; too great or too difficult to be dealt with successfully.; Incapable of being climbed over or passed across; physically impassable.; So great in degree or extent as to be beyond the power of human ability to resolve or endure.

🔗 Details

Word forms

Collocations

insurmountable obstacleinsurmountable challengeinsurmountable difficultyinsurmountable probleminsurmountable barrierinsurmountable odds

Derivatives

insurmountablysurmountablesurmountinsurmountability

Synonyms

insuperableoverwhelmingimpossibleunconquerableinvincibleunbeatable

Antonyms

surmountableconquerableovercomeable

Commonly confused

insuperable
EN: Nearly synonymous; 'insuperable' is slightly more formal/literary, while 'insurmountable' is more common in everyday usage.
insurmountible
EN: 'Insurmountible' is a misspelling; the correct suffix is '-able', not '-ible'.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the suffix is '-able' (not '-ible'): 'insurmountable'. Also note the prefix is 'in-' attached directly to 'surmountable' with no hyphen.

💬 Examples

  1. The team faced insurmountable odds and ultimately lost the championship.

  2. The mountain range proved insurmountable for the early explorers.

  3. She felt an insurmountable sense of grief after the loss of her child.