Meaning & use
intractable
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableformal
Very hard to solve, control or change.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: an intractable problem.
The two sides faced an intractable dispute.
Poverty remains an intractable problem in the region.
The pain proved intractable despite treatment.
adjectivecomparableformal
Stubborn and unwilling to be persuaded or directed.
Grammar: Describes people or animals: an intractable child.
The intractable mule refused to move.
He remained intractable in the talks.
Her intractable attitude upset the committee.
adjectivebefore a nounmedicaltechnical
In medicine, not responding to treatment.
Grammar: Used before nouns like pain or epilepsy.
Patterns
- intractable pain
Doctors tried many drugs for his intractable pain.
She has intractable epilepsy.
The cough was intractable for months.
Word forms
| comparative | more intractable |
|---|---|
| superlative | most intractable |
Common combinations
- intractable problem
- Homelessness is an intractable problem in many cities.
- intractable conflict
- The intractable conflict lasted decades.
- intractable pain
- The clinic treats intractable pain.
- intractable dispute
- An intractable dispute stalled the deal.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stubborn
- Stubborn describes people who refuse to change, while intractable can also describe problems.
- unmanageable
- Unmanageable suggests something too large to handle, with a plainer tone.
- insoluble
- Insoluble means impossible to solve and is often used for problems or puzzles.
- obstinate
- Obstinate is only about stubborn people and never problems.
Opposites
Word family
- intractability noun
- the quality of being hard to manage
- intractably adverb
- in a hard-to-manage way
- tractable adjective
- easy to manage
- tractability noun
- ease of handling
Commonly confused: intractable or intractable vs. intangible?
intractable vs intractable vs. intangible
Intangible means impossible to touch or hard to define, while intractable means hard to control or solve.
Practice
The long-running dispute proved ___ despite years of talks.
Choose one answer.
Intractable means very hard to solve. Tractable means easy to manage, the opposite of the context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intractable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.