in·sol·u·ble

[in-sol-yuh-buhl]
adjective
1.
incapable of being dissolved: insoluble salts.
2.
incapable of being solved or explained: an insoluble problem.

Origin:
1350–1400; < Latin insolūbilis; replacing Middle English insolible < Middle French insoluble < L. See in-3, soluble

in·sol·u·bil·i·ty, in·sol·u·ble·ness, noun
in·sol·u·bly, adverb
sem·i-in·sol·u·ble, adjective

insoluble, insolvable, unsolvable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To insoluble
00:10
Insoluble is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
Collins
World English Dictionary
insoluble (ɪnˈsɒljʊbəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  incapable of being dissolved; incapable of forming a solution, esp in water
2.  incapable of being solved
 
insolu'bility
 
n
 
in'solubleness
 
n
 
in'solubly
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

insoluble
1382, "unable to be loosened," from L. insolubilis "that cannot be loosened," from in- "not" + solubilis (see soluble). Fig, use, of problems, etc., is from 1393.
"It was a tacit conviction of the learned during the Middle Ages that no such thing as an insoluble question existed. There might be matters that presented serious difficulties, but if you could lay them before the right man -- some Arab in Spain, for instance, omniscient by reason of studies into the details of which it was better not to inquire -- he would give you a conclusive answer. The real trouble was only to find your man." [Gertrude Bell, "The Desert and the Sown," 1907]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

insoluble in·sol·u·ble (ĭn-sŏl'yə-bəl)
adj.
Not soluble.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
insoluble   (ĭn-sŏl'yə-bəl)  Pronunciation Key 
Not capable of being fully dissolved. Fats and oils are insoluble in water.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Reducing nitrogen in any body of water is not an insoluble problem.
These problems were insoluble during the era of division and distrust.
It was pioneering high school charters nearly a decade ago, when many groups
  still viewed the high school problem as insoluble.
The scientists said that in each case an insoluble ball of protein forms in the
  cell nucleus and kills it.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT