# impenetrable
## English
### Alternative forms

* (misspelling) inpenetrable

### Etymology

From Middle English inpenetrabel, inpenetrabyle, from Middle French impenetrable or directly from its etymon, Latin impenetrābilis. By surface analysis, im- +‎ penetrable.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɪmˈpɛnətɹəbəl/, /ɪmˈpɛnɪtɹəbəl/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
** Audio (UK):(file)
* Hyphenation: im‧pen‧e‧tra‧ble

### Adjective

impenetrable (not comparable)
* Not penetrable.
    Synonyms: impermeable, impregnable
    Antonyms: penetrable, permeable, pregnable
    The fortress is impenetrable, so it cannot be taken.
** 2012, John Branch, “Snow fall: The avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2024-06-11:The avalanche spread and stopped, locking everything it carried into an icy cocoon. It was now a jagged, virtually impenetrable pile of ice, longer than a football field and nearly as wide.
* Opaque; obscure; not translucent or transparent.
** 1991, Varg Vikernes (lyrics and music), “Dunkelheit”, performed by Burzum:When night falls, she cloaks the world in impenetrable darkness.
* (figuratively) Incomprehensible; fathomless; inscrutable.
    Synonyms: unfathomable; see also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
    Antonyms: fathomable; see also Thesaurus:comprehensible
    Business jargon makes this document impenetrable—I can’t understand it.

#### Translations
### Noun

impenetrable (plural impenetrables)
* A person not openly given to friendship. (clarification of this definition is needed)
** 1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Chapter XXVI. Lady Marchmont to Sir Jasper Meredith.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 236:I should lose the reputation that I am gradually acquiring among our impenetrables here, were I to confess the excitement which I felt at the idea of entering his house—the house of that great general under whose command you made your first charge.

### References

* ↑ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “impenetrable (adj.)”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

## Catalan
### Etymology

From Latin impenetrābilis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [im.pə.nəˈtɾab.blə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [im.pe.neˈtɾa.ble]

### Adjective

impenetrable m or f (masculine and feminine plural impenetrables)
* impenetrable

### Further reading

* “impenetrable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “impenetrable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “impenetrable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “impenetrable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin impenetrābilis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /impeneˈtɾable/ [ĩm.pe.neˈt̪ɾa.β̞le]
* Rhymes: -able
* Syllabification: im‧pe‧ne‧tra‧ble

### Adjective

impenetrable m or f (masculine and feminine plural impenetrables)
* impenetrable
** 1867, Cesare Cantù, Historia universal, 8, page 118:como una muralla impenetrable(please add an English translation of this quotation)

#### Derived terms

* impenetrabilidad

### Further reading

* “impenetrable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10