insoutenable

Meaning (in English)

Insoutenable means unbearable, intolerable, or unsustainable to endure. It describes something that cannot be tolerated because it is too intense, too painful, too unpleasant, or morally unacceptable.

Common uses:

• Physical or emotional intensity: une douleur insoutenable = unbearable pain
• Noise/heat/conditions: une chaleur insoutenable = unbearable heat
• Moral/social judgment: une injustice insoutenable = an intolerable injustice
• A person’s behavior/attitude (more informal): someone “unbearable” to be around

Parts / structure

• in-: a prefix meaning “not” or “the opposite of”
• soutenable: bearable / sustainable, from soutenir (“to support, sustain, endure”)

So insoutenable literally means “not bearable”.

French synonyms

Depending on the context:

• intolérable (intolerable)
• invivable (unlivable; very strong)
• insupportable (unbearable; very common)
• inadmissible (inadmissible; often moral/social)
• atroce, terrible (awful/terrible; more general)
• épouvantable (dreadful)

French antonyms

• supportable (bearable)
• soutenable (sustainable/bearable)
• tolérable (tolerable)
• acceptable (acceptable)
• vivable (livable)

Notes on usage

• Insoutenable is often slightly more formal than insupportable, but they are frequently interchangeable.
• Agreement: insoutenable (masc./fem. singular), insoutenables (plural).