What does "impregnable" mean?
Of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
Impregnable
/ɪmˈpɹɛɡ.nəˌb(ə)l/ adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
- Grammar: impregnable is listed as adj.
- Nearest alternatives: unassailable, airtight, conceptive, deathless.
- Useful contrasts: defeatable, pregnable, debatable.
- Usage evidence: Layla's virtue was impregnable.
How to use "impregnable"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "impregnable" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "impregnable" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "impregnable" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "impregnable" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "impregnable" is acting as adj in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "unassailable" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "impregnable", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
"Unerringly impelling this dead, impregnable, uninjurable wall, and this most buoyant thing within; there swims behind it all a mass of tremendous life, only to be adequately estimated as piled wood is—by the cord; and all obedient to one volition, as the smallest insect."
- 2 Capable of being impregnated; impregnatable.
"The reproductive strategies of troop members, especially those of impregnable females, are suggested to influence patterns of range use."
- 3 Too strong to be defeated or overcome; invincible. figuratively
"[A]s for the Friendſhip of the World; […] he may at laſt be no more able to get into the other's Heart, than he is to thruſt his Hand into a Pillar of Braſs. The Man's Affection, amidſt all theſe Kindneſſes done him, remaining wholly unconcerned, and impregnable; juſt like a Rock, which being plied continually by the Waves, ſtill throws them back again into the Boſom of the Sea that ſent them, but is not at all moved by any of them."
Adjective
- 1 incapable of being overcome, challenged or refuted wordnet
- 2 capable of conceiving wordnet
- 3 immune to attack; incapable of being tampered with wordnet
Example
"Layla's virtue was impregnable."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "impregnable"?
Common synonyms include: unassailable, airtight, conceptive, deathless, defended, guarded.
How do you use "impregnable" in a sentence?
Layla's virtue was impregnable.
How do you pronounce "impregnable"?
Pronounced /ɪmˈpɹɛɡ.nəˌb(ə)l/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Late Middle English imprenable, impregnable (“impossible to capture, impregnable”), from Old French imprenable (modern French imprenable (“impregnable”)), from im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + prenable (“(military) of a building, position, etc.: takable”) (from prendre (“to take”) + -able (suffix meaning ‘creating an effect or influence’)). Prendre is derived from Latin prēndere, present active infinitive of prēndō, a variant of prehendō (“to catch, lay hold of; to grasp; to grab, snatch; to seize, take”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- (“to find; to hold; to seize, take”). The intrusive g in the English word was modelled after words like deign and reign.
Etymology 2
PIE word *h₁én From impregnate (verb) + -able (suffix meaning ‘able or fit to be done’ forming adjectives). Impregnate is either derived from impregnate (“pregnant”, adjective), or from its etymon Medieval Latin or Late Latin impraegnātus (“made pregnant”), past participle of impraegnō (“to make pregnant”), from Latin im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’)) + praegnāre (“pregnant”) (from praegnāns, a variant of praegnās (“pregnant”), from prae- (prefix meaning ‘before; in front’) + *gnāscor (archaic), nāscor (“to be born; to grow, spring forth; to arise, proceed”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”)).