intractable

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ɪnˈtræktəbəl/ UK /ɪnˈtræktəbəl/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
hard to control, manage, or resolve; stubborn

Poverty proved an intractable problem that no reform could cure.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · hard to control, manage, or... stubborn obstinate unmanageable refractory recalcitrant unyielding

Opposites

tractable manageable docile compliant amenable

Word family

Derived forms intractabilityintractably

Related forms tractable traction tract treat

Etymology

From Latin intractabilis ('unmanageable'), from in- ('not') + tractabilis ('manageable'), from tractare ('to handle, manage'), frequentative of trahere ('to draw, drag').

intractabilis Latin trahere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# intractable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** ɪnˈtræktəbəl
**IPA (UK):** ɪnˈtræktəbəl

## Meanings
1. hard to control, manage, or resolve; stubborn

## Examples
- Poverty proved an intractable problem that no reform could cure.

## Synonyms
- stubborn
- obstinate
- unmanageable
- refractory
- recalcitrant
- unyielding

## Antonyms
- tractable
- manageable
- docile
- compliant
- amenable

## Derived Forms
- intractability
- intractably

## Related Forms
- tractable
- traction
- tract
- treat

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: intractabilis
- Root: trahere

## Etymology
From Latin intractabilis ('unmanageable'), from in- ('not') + tractabilis ('manageable'), from tractare ('to handle, manage'), frequentative of trahere ('to draw, drag').

## AI Etymology
intractable comes from Latin intractabilis ('unmanageable'), from in- ('not') + tractabilis ('manageable'), from tractare ('to handle, manage'), frequentative of trahere ('to draw, drag'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the adjective sense is "hard to control, manage, or resolve; stubborn", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as tractable, traction, tract, and treat, and in derivatives such as intractability and intractably. Its semantic neighborhood includes stubborn, obstinate, unmanageable, and refractory, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin intractabilis and Latin trahere.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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