insuperable

English

Etymology

From Latin insuperabilis.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsup(ə)ɹəb(ə)l/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

Adjective

insuperable (comparative more insuperable, superlative most insuperable)

1. Impossible to achieve or overcome or be negotiated.
   • 1950 September, “The Southwold Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 578:

     Regular services for passengers and goods were maintained for almost 50 years, but the speed limit of 16 m.p.h., imposed by the Board of Trade, proved an insuperable handicap after the introduction of competitive motor bus services.

   • 2012, James Lambert, “Beyond Hobson-Jobson: A new lexicography for Indian English”, in World Englishes‎^[1], page 308:

     While Indian English may not have a uniform standard form throughout the country, this in itself is not an insuperable obstacle for lexicography.

2. Overwhelming or insurmountable.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, pages 4–5:

     For the first time I steadily reviewed the obstacles—and to consider them was at once to see they were insuperable.

Synonyms

• unsuperable

Antonyms

• superable

Derived terms

• insuperableness

Related terms

• insuperability

Translations

Translations

• Bulgarian: непреодолим (bg) (nepreodolim)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 无法克服的

• Dutch: onoverkomelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: nesuperebla
• French: insurmontable (fr)
• German: unüberwindbar (de), unüberwindlich (de)
• Greek: αξεπέραστος (el) m (axepérastos), ανυπέρβλητος (el) m (anypérvlitos)
• Irish: dosháraithe
• Russian: неодоли́мый (ru) m (neodolímyj)
• Spanish: insuperable

See also

• impassable
• unconquerable

Further reading

• “insuperable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “insuperable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “insuperable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /insupeˈɾable/ [ĩn.su.peˈɾa.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: in‧su‧pe‧ra‧ble

Adjective

insuperable m or f (masculine and feminine plural insuperables)

1. insuperable

Related terms

• superable

 

Further reading

• “insuperable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014