Meaning & use
unpassable
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivenot comparable
impossible to travel along or go past, especially because of damage or blockage
Grammar: Describes a physical route or obstacle; it is not used for abstract ideas.
Patterns
- an unpassable road
- the pass was unpassable
Heavy snow made the mountain road unpassable for three days.
After the storm, the bridge was unpassable, so we had to turn back.
The trail was unpassable because a fallen tree blocked the path.
Common combinations
- unpassable road
- The unpassable road forced us to cancel the trip.
- become unpassable
- The path becomes unpassable after heavy rain.
- completely unpassable
- The tunnel was completely unpassable due to flooding.
Synonyms and how they differ
- impassable
- Impassable is the more common and slightly more formal word for the same meaning.
- blocked
- Blocked means something is in the way, but it does not always mean you cannot get through.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: unpassable or impassable?
unpassable vs impassable
These words mean almost the same, but impassable is far more frequent in everyday English.
Practice
The road was ______ after the landslide, so no cars could get through.
Choose one answer.
Unpassable means impossible to travel along. Unpassing and unpassed are not standard words, and impassive means showing no emotion.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unpassable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.