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YOUR VOCABULARY, ONE WORD AT A TIME

intractable

Adjective

IPA /ɪnˈtræktəbl/

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Meaning in plain English

Extremely difficult to deal with, control or solve.

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Pronunciation

intractable/ɪnˈtræktəbl/

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  1. A complicated problem remains

  2. Repeated attempts fail to resolve it

An intractable problem is very hard to solve.

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  1. The neighbours' dispute had become an intractable problem.
  2. The team spent months working on an intractable technical challenge.

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The neighbours' dispute had become an ________ problem.
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intractable — Extremely difficult to deal with, control or solve.

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Extremely difficult to deal with, control or solve.

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Word origin

From Latin intractabilis, combining a negative prefix with a word meaning manageable.

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Intractable problem, dispute and conflict are common combinations.

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intractable

/ɪnˈtræktəbl/ (Adjective)

“Formal: intractable means very hard to resolve, not necessarily impossible.”

englishskillstudio.com