insufferable

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insufferable

/ɪnˈsʌfəɹəb(ə)l/ US, UK
/ɪnˈsʌfɹəb(ə)l/ US, UK

Where it comes from

From Late Middle English insufferable (“unbearably painful, intolerable”), and then either:

* from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + sufferable, souffrable (“bearable, endurable, tolerable; allowable, permissible; able to or willing to bear hardship; forbearing, long-suffering; calm, self-restrained, slow to anger; capable of suffering”) (from Anglo-Norman sufferable, souffrable, and Old French souffrable, suffrable (“sufferable, tolerable”)); or

* from Old French insouffrable (“which cannot be endured or suffered; something insufferable or unendurable”) (now dialectal), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + souffrable, suffrable.

From Old French souffrable, suffrable are derived from Medieval Latin sufferābilis, from Latin sufferre + -ābilis (suffix meaning ‘able or worthy to be’); while sufferre is the present active infinitive of sufferō, subferō (“to bear or carry under; to bear, endure, suffer, undergo”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘below, under’) + ferō (“to bear, carry; to endure, suffer, tolerate”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to bear, carry”)). The English word is analysable as in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + sufferable.

adjective more insufferable · most insufferable

Not sufferable; very difficult or impossible to endure; intolerable, unbearable. No, his good Meen, his Youth, and blooming Face / Tempt him to think, that vvith a better grace / Himſelf might ſit, and thou ſupply his place. / Behold there yet remains, vvhich muſt be born, / Proud Servants more inſufferable Scorn.
Similar: insupportable, unabideable, unendurable, unsufferable, unsupportable · Opposite: abideable, bearable, endurable, sufferable, supportable, tolerable

Translations

Every language

adj not sufferable — see also intolerable

Español	insufrible, insoportable, inaguantable, no haber quien lo aguante
中文	難以忍受的 /难以忍受的 nányǐrěnshòu de
हिन्दी	दंभी dambhī
Português	insuportável, intolerável
Français	insupportable, haïssable, intolérable
Deutsch	unausstehlich, unerträglich, untragbar
Italiano	insoffribile, insopportabile, intollerabile
Ελληνικά	ανυπόφορος anypóforos, αβάσταχτος avástachtos
Română	insuportabil, nerăbdabil, nesuferibil, nesuportabil
Русский	невыноси́мый nevynosímyj
Tiếng Việt	bất kham, bất nhẫn, không thể chịu đựng được

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MLA

"insufferable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/insufferable. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

insufferable. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/insufferable

Chicago

"insufferable." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/insufferable.

BibTeX

@misc{insufferable_2026,
  title = {insufferable},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/insufferable},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}