What does intractable mean?
Intractable describes something that resists control, persuasion, negotiation, or treatment. The word is especially useful when a difficulty is persistent and does not yield to ordinary methods. It can describe formidable problems, entrenched opposition, uncooperative groups, severe medical conditions, and pain that is difficult to relieve. Intractable is stronger and more formal than simply saying that something is difficult, but it rarely implies complete impossibility; instead, it suggests that the usual remedies are ineffective. When applied to a person or group, the word conveys stubbornness and an unwillingness to change. In medical contexts, it emphasizes resistance to treatment rather than necessarily meaning that a condition cannot be cured. The word is consequently valuable whenever a problem demands language stronger than “difficult” but more measured than “impossible.”
adjectiveDifficult to control, manage, persuade, or treat; stubbornly resistant to change or intervention.
- Difficult to control, manage, or resolve.
- Stubbornly resistant to persuasion, negotiation, or compromise.
- In medicine, difficult to treat or relieve.
"The committee faced an intractable dispute that no compromise seemed able to resolve."
"The region has struggled to contain an intractable conflict marked by decades of mutual hostility."
"She was prescribed medication for the patient's intractable pain."
Intractable and tractable share the same Latin root, but they point in opposite directions: one can be handled, while the other refuses to be.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does intractable come from?
Intractable was borrowed into English in the early 17th century from the Latin intractabilis, meaning “unmanageable” or “not to be handled.” The word was formed from the prefix in-, expressing negation, and tractabilis, derived from tractare, “to pull, drag, or handle.” The same Latin root produced English words such as tractable, traction, extraction, and protracted, giving the word a history centered on pulling, handling, and control.
Related word forms
How intractable is actually used
Formal and relatively strong, often with the implication that ordinary persuasion or routine intervention has failed. It does not necessarily mean that the situation is literally impossible to overcome.
Easily confused with intractable
Tractable means easy to handle, control, or persuade, whereas intractable means resistant to those processes.