Intractable

adj

adj ·4 syllables ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Not tractable; not able to be managed, controlled, governed or directed.

    "And I cannot but expect that this will repeatedly lead to the discovery that an initially intractable problem can be factored after all."

  2. 2
    Not able to be solved in polynomial time; too difficult to attempt to solve.
  3. 3
    Difficult to deal with, solve, or manage. (of a problem)

    "Work—bureaucratic work in particular—poses a series of intractable dilemmas that often demand compromises with traditional moral beliefs."

  4. 4
    Stubborn; obstinate. (of a person)
  5. 5
    Difficult to treat (of a medical condition).
Adjective
  1. 1
    not tractable; difficult to manage or mold wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
refractoryuncontrollableunmalleableadamantadamantinebalking

Example

More examples

"I am too rude—too rough—too intractable to deal with any being so soft and gentle as you are."

Etymology

From in- + tractable.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.