Meaning & use
impassable
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Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
Impossible to travel along or through because of an obstacle or bad conditions.
Grammar: Used for roads, paths, or barriers; not for people or ideas. No comparative forms.
Patterns
- impassable road
- impassable due to something
- become impassable
- remain impassable
The mountain road was impassable after the heavy snow.
Flooding made the bridge impassable for several days.
The trail is impassable in winter without special equipment.
adjectivenot comparable
Impossible to pass through or cross, especially because of a physical barrier.
Grammar: Often used with 'to' to say who or what cannot pass: 'impassable to traffic'.
Patterns
- impassable to something
- impassable barrier
- impassable terrain
The dense forest was impassable to vehicles.
The border became impassable to refugees after the wall was built.
The swamp is impassable to anyone without a guide.
Common combinations
- impassable road
- The storm left several impassable roads in the area.
- become impassable
- The path can become impassable after heavy rain.
- impassable due to
- The highway was impassable due to a fallen tree.
- impassable to traffic
- The tunnel is currently impassable to traffic.
- virtually impassable
- The mountain pass is virtually impassable in winter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- blocked
- More general; a blocked road may be cleared, while an impassable one cannot be traveled at all.
- impenetrable
- Suggests something cannot be entered or crossed, often used for forests or defenses; 'impassable' is more about routes.
- unnavigable
- Used mainly for rivers or seas that boats cannot travel on; 'impassable' is used for roads and land routes.
Opposites
Word family
- passable adjective
- Possible to travel along or through, though perhaps not easily.
- impassably adverb
- In a way that makes travel impossible (rare).
Commonly confused: impassable or impassible? impassable or impassive?
impassable vs impassible
Impassible means unable to feel pain or emotion, or not capable of suffering; it is rare and mostly religious or literary. Impassable means you cannot travel through it.
impassable vs impassive
Impassive means showing no emotion; it describes a person's face or manner, not a road.
Practice
Heavy rain made the dirt road ______, so we had to turn back.
Choose one answer.
Impassable means impossible to travel along, which fits a road after heavy rain. 'Impassive' means showing no emotion; 'impassible' means unable to feel pain or emotion; 'impartial' means fair and not favoring one side.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “impassable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.