impassable
/ɪmˈpɑː.sə.bəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.74 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Incapable of being passed over, crossed, or negotiated.
adj
Incapable of being overcome or surmounted.
adj
Not usable as legal tender.
Example Sentences
- "At the same time, the encroachment of vegetation proceeds apace, and broom and brambles have already made portions of the line impassable, even on foot."
- "[...] at Cowley Bridge Junction, east of Exeter, both lines were impassable from about 1.30 p.m.—the first flooding of the junction for 36 years—and by the evening the water had risen two-thirds of the way up the platforms at St. Davids as Exeter faced its worst flooding for 60 years."
- "When the beach became impassable, as at high tide, they drove a sandy track behind the dunes."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English im- Proto-Indo-European *peth₂-der. Proto-Italic *pattus Latin passus Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *passāre Old French passerbor. Middle English passen English pass Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English impassable From im- + pass + -able.
Inflected Forms
more impassable (comparative)
most impassable (superlative)