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intractable Definition

in·trac·table (in traktə bəl)

adjective

not tractable; specif.,

  1. hard to manage; unruly or stubborn
  2. hard to work, manipulate, cure, treat, etc.

Etymology: L intractabilis

intractable Related Forms

in·trac′·tabil·ity noun or in·trac·table·ness in·trac·tably adverb

intractable Synonyms

intractable

modif.

intractable Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

make: The present shortage of supply teachers makes this problem intractable in many schools.

Modifies a noun

  • epilepsy: Five patients, who all had intractable epilepsy, took part.
  • seizure: ECG changes in patients with intractable partial seizures have been studied; 51 seizures in 43 subjects were analyzed 42.
  • problem: Some of the most intractable problems faced by the NHS are cultural.
  • dispute: Very often, a seemingly intractable dispute can actually be resolved in one or two days!
  • pain: Terri, Midwife, Devon, UK Hi from Norway, where midwives do use sterile water papules for intractable back pain in labor.
  • conflict: This dispute remains one of the most intractable international conflicts in the world.

Modifying Another Word

  • analytically: The Mathematical Tripos includes Computational Project courses which train students to solve analytically intractable mathematical problems using computers.
  • computationally: These computationally intractable sums or integrals can be avoided by using approximate Bayesian methods.
  • seemingly: A chemical approach may, however, be used to dissect many of the seemingly intractable problems which have been posed.
  • medically: For many patients with medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy, surgical intervention may be the only chance for patients to be rendered seizure-free.
  • hitherto: Now, in addition to controlling Common Couch, Attribut also offers a solution to this hitherto intractable weed problem.
  • apparently: In the event of an apparently intractable contractual dispute, individual parties should seek professional legal advice.

Used with adjective complement

  • prove: Thus far, North Korea has proved intractable on the issue.
  • appear: In many cases, even where problems have appeared intractable over many months, we are able to agree a satisfactory settlement within weeks.
  • seem: Disputes which once seemed totally intractable have been solved.
  • remain: A number of issues have only recently been finally resolved, with some remaining intractable.
  • become: Problems have a habit of becoming more intractable the longer they are left.
  • consider: There too, there is an exacting cultural reclamation of theme and material previously considered intractable to creative expression.