Meaning & use
insufferable
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Too unpleasant, arrogant, or boring to be tolerated, especially describing a person or their behavior.
Grammar: Comes before a noun or follows a verb: an insufferable bore / he was insufferable. Not gradable.
Patterns
- an insufferable bore
- insufferable arrogance
- find someone insufferable
Nobody wanted to share an office with the insufferable new manager.
His insufferable habit of interrupting ruined every meeting.
She found her neighbor's constant boasting insufferable.
adjectivebefore a noun
Too extreme or intense to bear, used of conditions such as heat, noise, or pain.
Grammar: Usually before a noun: insufferable heat; can follow a verb after seem or become.
Patterns
- insufferable heat
- insufferable noise
- insufferable pain
The campers endured insufferable heat during the afternoon.
The insufferable noise from the construction site continued all night.
After three hours in the packed hall, the heat became insufferable.
Common combinations
- insufferable bore
- He turned into an insufferable bore, talking only about his salary.
- insufferable arrogance
- Her insufferable arrogance cost her most of her friends.
- insufferable heat
- We waited until evening to escape the insufferable heat.
- find someone insufferable
- Colleagues privately admitted they found him insufferable.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unbearable
- The closest synonym and works for people and conditions alike; insufferable is more often aimed at people and carries sharper disapproval.
- intolerable
- Suggests something that cannot be allowed to continue, often a situation; insufferable focuses on how annoying someone is.
- obnoxious
- Describes offensive, rude behavior but not physical conditions like heat; insufferable covers both.
Opposites
Word family
- insufferably adverb
- To an unbearable degree: insufferably rude.
Commonly confused: insufferable or insuperable?
insufferable vs insuperable
Insuperable means impossible to overcome, like an insuperable obstacle; insufferable means impossible to tolerate.
Practice
The other guests quietly agreed that the loud salesman was an ___ bore.
Choose one answer.
The blank needs an adjective before the noun bore, and the context demands a strongly negative word: insufferable. Insufferably is an adverb, insufferability is a rare noun, and sufferable means the opposite.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “insufferable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.