impregnable
/ɪmˈpɹɛɡ.nəˌb(ə)l/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.64 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
adj
Too strong to be defeated or overcome; invincible.
adj
Capable of being impregnated; impregnatable.
Example Sentences
- "Unerringly impelling this dead, impregnable, uninjurable wall, and this most buoyant thing within; there swims behind it all a mass of tremendous life, only to be adequately estimated as piled wood is—by the cord; and all obedient to one volition, as the smallest insect."
- "Jurgis got up, wild with rage; but the door was shut and the great castle was dark and impregnable."
- "[A]s for the Friendſhip of the World; […] he may at laſt be no more able to get into the other's Heart, than he is to thruſt his Hand into a Pillar of Braſs. The Man's Affection, amidſt all theſe Kindneſſes done him, remaining wholly unconcerned, and impregnable; juſt like a Rock, which being plied continually by the Waves, ſtill throws them back again into the Boſom of the Sea that ſent them, but is not at all moved by any of them."
- "And with Bolton suffering a wretched run of five straight home defeats – their worst run in 109 years – Chelsea fans would have been forgiven for expecting a comfortable win. But surely they did not anticipate the ease with which their team raced into an almost impregnable half-time lead."
- "The reproductive strategies of troop members, especially those of impregnable females, are suggested to influence patterns of range use."
Etymology
From Late Middle English imprenable, impregnable (“impossible to capture, impregnable”), from Old French imprenable (modern French imprenable (“impregnable”)), from im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + prenable (“(military) of a building, position, etc.: takable”) (from prendre (“to take”) + -able (suffix meaning ‘creating an effect or influence’)). Prendre is derived from Latin prēndere, present active infinitive of prēndō, a variant of prehendō (“to catch, lay hold of; to grasp; to grab, snatch; to seize, take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to find; to hold; to seize, take”). The intrusive g in the English word was modelled after words like deign and reign.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *gʰed-, imprenable, prēndere, *ǵenh₁-, -, impraegnātus
- Suffix: impregnate
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪmˈpɹɛɡ.nəˌb(ə)l/
- British English: /ɪmˈpɹɛɡ.nəˌb(ə)l/
Inflected Forms
more impregnable (comparative)
most impregnable (superlative)