Word of the Day

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

insuperable

\in-SOO-pur-uh-bul\ , adjective;

Incapable of being passed over, surmounted, or overcome; insurmountable; as, "insuperable difficulties."

Read the full entry|See synonyms|Comment on today's word|Suggest tomorrow's word

Quotes:

They have overcome almost insuperable odds that the poor facilities and elements have brought about.

-- Raimund E. Goerler (Editor), To the Pole: The Diary and Notebook of Richard E. Byrd, 1925-1927

Once the Soviet Union acquired the bomb, in 1949, proposals for nuclear disarmament were rejected on grounds that the character of the Soviet regime posed an insuperable obstacle.

-- Jonathan Schell, The Gift of Time

Origin:

Insuperable comes from Latin insuperabilis, from in-, "not" + superare, "to go above or over, to surmount," from super, "above, over."