impassable — impassable, impenetrable, impervious, impermeable are comparable when they mean not allowing passage through. Impassable applies chiefly to stretches of land or water which cannot be passed over or crossed because of some insuperable difficulty… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Impassable — Im*pass a*ble, a. [Cf. {Unpassable}.] Incapable of being passed; not admitting a passage; as, an impassable road, mountain, or gulf. Milton. {Im*pass a*ble*ness}, n. {Im*pass a*bly}, adv. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
impassable — impassable, impassible Impassable means ‘that cannot be traversed’ and refers to roads, stretches of countryside, etc. Impassible means ‘incapable of feeling emotion’ or ‘incapable of suffering injury’, and is pronounced with the second syllable… … Modern English usage
impassable — [im pas′ə bəl] adj. that cannot be passed, crossed, or traveled over [an impassable highway] impassability n. impassably adv … English World dictionary
impassable — index difficult, impervious, impossible, impracticable, insurmountable Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
impassable — (adj.) that cannot be passed, 1560s, from IM (Cf. im ) + PASSABLE (Cf. passable) … Etymology dictionary
impassable — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ impossible to travel along or over. DERIVATIVES impassability noun … English terms dictionary
impassable — impassability, impassableness, n. impassably, adv. /im pas euh beuhl, pah seuh /, adj. 1. not passable; not allowing passage over, through, along, etc.: Heavy snow made the roads impassable. 2. unable to be surmounted: an impassable obstacle to… … Universalium
impassable — adj. VERBS ▪ be ▪ become ▪ remain ▪ make sth ▪ The mud made the roads impassable. ADVERB … Collocations dictionary
impassable — im|pass|a|ble [ımˈpa:səbəl US ımˈpæ ] adj a road, path, or area that is impassable is impossible to travel along or through ▪ The mountains are impassable … Dictionary of contemporary English
]. Étymol .et Hist. 1584 « où on ne peut pas passer » chemin... impassable (Arch. mun. Agen DD 17 ds GDF.) Dér. de passable au sens de « par où l'on peut passer », ca 1355 (G. DE DIGULLEVILLE, Pélerinage de l'âme, éd. J. J. Stürzinger, 232).impassable [ɛ̃pɑsabl] adj.❖♦ Vx ou régional (Canada). Infranchissable. || Montagnes impassables. — Où l'on ne peut passer (en parlant d'une voie).