# intolerable
## English
### Alternative forms

* untolerable (obsolete)

### Etymology

From Middle French intolerable, from Latin intolerābilis. By surface analysis, in- +‎ tolerable.

### Pronunciation

* (General American) IPA: /ɪnˈtɑləɹəbl̩/
* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ɪnˈtɒləɹəbl̩/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Hyphenation: in‧tol‧er‧able

### Adjective

intolerable (comparative more intolerable, superlative most intolerable)
* Not tolerable; not capable of being borne or endured.
    Synonyms: insufferable, insupportable, unbearable, unsittable
* Extremely offensive or insulting.
** 1971, William S. Burroughs, The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead, page 4:It is an intolerable sound that sets spoons tinkling in saucers and windowpanes vibrating.
** 2019 May 28, Jack Guy and Antonia Mortensen, “Germans urged to wear Jewish skullcap ahead of anti-Israel protests”, in CNN‎:“I call on all citizens of Berlin and across Germany to wear the yarmulke (as the skullcap is known in Yiddish) next Saturday if there are new, intolerable attacks targeting Israel and Jews on the occasion of Al-Quds Day in Berlin,” said Felix Klein in a statement.
* (nuclear power) Extremely worn and degraded, to the point of being unsafe.
** 2022 December 15, Samanth Subramanian, “Dismantling Sellafield: the epic task of shutting down a nuclear site”, in The Guardian‎:o take apart an ageing nuclear facility, you have to put a lot of other things together first. New technologies, for instance, and new buildings to replace the intolerable ones, and new reserves of money.

#### Derived terms

* intolerability
* intolerableness
* intolerably

#### Collocations

* intolerable cruelty
* intolerable burden
* intolerable situation
* intolerable condition
* intolerable pain
* intolerable heat
* intolerable position
* intolerable life
* intolerable state
* intolerable suffering
* intolerable evil
* intolerable risk
* intolerable insult
* intolerable hardship
* intolerable agony
* intolerable behavior
* intolerable affront
* intolerable insolence
* intolerable stress
* intolerable consequence
* intolerable people
* intolerable
* intolerable
* intolerable
* intolerable
* intolerable
* intolerable
* intolerable
* intolerable
* intolerable

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### References

* William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “intolerable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
* “intolerable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin intolerābilis. By surface analysis, in- +‎ tolerable.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [in.tu.ləˈɾab.blə]
* IPA: (Balearic) [in.to.ləˈɾab.blə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [in.to.leˈɾa.ble]

### Adjective

intolerable m or f (masculine and feminine plural intolerables)
* intolerable
    Synonym: insuportable
    Antonym: tolerable

#### Derived terms

* intolerablement

#### Related terms

* intolerabilitat

### Further reading

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

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin intolerābilis. By surface analysis, in- +‎ tolerable.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /intoleˈɾable/ [ĩn̪.t̪o.leˈɾa.β̞le]
* Rhymes: -able
* Syllabification: in‧to‧le‧ra‧ble

### Adjective

intolerable m or f (masculine and feminine plural intolerables)
* intolerable
    Synonym: insoportable
    Antonym: tolerable

#### Derived terms

* intolerabilidad
* intolerablemente

### Further reading

* “intolerable”, 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