SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
intractable
adjective
Difficult to manage, control, or resolve.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Difficult to manage
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topAn intractable problem resists solution; an intractable person resists management or persuasion.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See intractable in use
The seemingly intractable dispute ended after both sides explained their concerns.
The transport question was no longer intractable, but the opening venue's rehearsal time remained difficult to change.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license