ENGLISH
REFERENCE

unbearable

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ənˈbɛɹəbəɫ// UK //ʌnbˈeəɹəbəl// un·bear·able

adj. too bad, painful, or annoying to deal with. You use this when you feel like you cannot handle a situation any longer.

adj. too unpleasant, painful, or intense to be tolerated. Often used predicatively after linking verbs such as 'become', 'seem', or 'feel'.


SIMPLE

The heat in the room was unbearable.

CONTEXTUAL

The silence in the house became unbearable after his best friend moved away.

COMPLEX

The protagonist's grief is depicted as an unbearable weight, manifesting physically as a constant pressure in his chest that prevents him from engaging with the world.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Middle English unberable, equivalent to un- + bearable.

Usage

Often modified by adverbs of degree like 'almost', 'nearly', or 'virtually'.

Pitfall

The pain was unbearingThe pain was unbearableLearners sometimes confuse the adjective 'unbearable' with the present participle 'unbearing', which is not a standard English word for this meaning.

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