impassable

adjective

im·​pass·​able (ˌ)im-ˈpa-sə-bəl 

variants or less commonly impassible

: incapable of being passed, traveled, crossed, or surmounted

impassability

(ˌ)im-ˌpa-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

impassableness

(ˌ)im-ˈpa-sə-bəl-nəs 

noun

impassably

(ˌ)im-ˈpa-sə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• impenetrable
• impermeable
• impervious
• impregnable

Examples of impassable in a Sentence

The roads were made impassable by the flood.

the road was impassable until snowplows cleared it

Recent Examples on the Web

After Hurricane Helene: Helping others, one barbecue plate at a time With roads impassable and many still without power or communication, Hooper and his team decided to start giving away food. —Tamia Boyd, Charlotte Observer, 28 Feb. 2025

Severe winter weather left roads and sidewalks impassable for school buses and students. —Eleanor Nash, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2025

With parts of some roads impassable in northwestern Pennsylvania, scores of travelers took refuge in the lobby and hallways of a Holiday Inn near I-90. —CBS News, 1 Dec. 2024

Yet these stories, in which class divisions form impassable rifts and submission to the status quo comes at great psychic cost, have much to say about our contemporary reality. —Camille Bromley, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1562, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for impassable

• passable
• impassible
• irascible
• unsurpassable

Kids Definition

impassable

adjective

im·​pass·​able (ˈ)im-ˈpas-ə-bəl 

: impossible to pass, cross, or travel over

roads made impassable by the hurricane

impassability

(ˌ)im-ˌpas-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun