Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INSURMOUNTABLE
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pronounce
INSURMOUNTABLE:
Say it "IN sur MOUNT uh bull."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Are you an optimist? A climb-every-mountain kind of person? Someone who sees almost every problem as surmountable, or able to be climbed over?
Me, too. But if a problem proves just too high and just too steep, we'll call it insurmountable.
Our word insurmountable has a very close synonym that we checked out a few weeks ago. Can you recall it? It's basically the same as insurmountable, just with the "mount" bit deleted and, swapped in, a different spelling of the "sur" bit. It literally means "unable to be risen above:" __sup______.
And, insurmountable has four cousins we've met before that also come from the Latin word for "mountain," mons. Can you recall all four?
1. Something ____mount is superior (better and higher) than everything else.
2. R___mon____ is over-the-top boasting. In other words, it's bragging that's extremely exaggerated, the kind that seems to say, "I can move mountains."
3. When one thing is ____mount to another thing, that means they're like two equivalent heaps or mountains: they have basically the same effect or the same significance.
4. A moun______ is someone who makes a loud, showy display to fool people, often to take their money--as if they've climbed up on a bench to shout at everyone.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
The word "surmount" came to us through French, ultimately from Latin, and you can almost see its Latin bits: super, meaning "over or above," and mons, meaning "mountain."
Literally speaking, to surmount something to is to climb to the top of it.
And figuratively speaking, to surmount something (like, to surmount a problem or a hurdle) is to rise above it, or to beat it: to deal with it successfully. Surmountable things can be beaten; they can be dealt with successfully.
Insurmountable things are the opposite: they're so huge or so difficult that you can't deal with them successfully.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech: adjective: "an insurmountable problem," "the challenge seemed insurmountable at first."
Other forms:
The adverb is "insurmountably."
For a noun, use "insurmountableness" or, my preference, "insurmountability."
The opposite forms are "surmountable," "surmountably," and "surmountableness." (Dictionaries don't recognize "surmountability," for reasons I can't fathom!)
And you can simply use the verb "surmount," which is the transitive kind, as in "They surmounted this challenge" and "They're still surmounting this problem."
how to use it:
If you find this word ugly, you're not alone. According to one linguist, "insurmountable" is a "ghastly philological monster." Okay, sure, it's a mouthful.
But a mouthful is always great for emphasis! So pick "insurmountable" to describe the most daunting, most discouraging, most complex problems, challenges, and obstacles.
And usually it is a problem, a challenge, or an obstacle that we call insurmountable.
But we can also talk about insurmountable hurdles, barriers, pains, feelings, concerns, deficits, handicaps, conditions, damages, debts, costs, etc. "Her insurmountable nervousness," "an insurmountable prejudice," "this insurmountable level of scrutiny."
And we even occasionally talk about insurmountable leads, edges, and advantages: those that our competitors (or enemies) can't overcome; it's like we're standing atop a mountain, where they can't reach us.
examples:
"I fell asleep listening to his slow, even breaths, his stubbornness finally melting away in the face of insurmountable fatigue."
— John Green, Looking for Alaska, 2006
"Technology alone rarely confers an insurmountable military edge; tactics, organization, training, leadership, and other products of an effective bureaucracy are necessary to realize the full potential of new inventions."
— Max Boot, War Made New: Weapons, Warriors, and the Making of the Modern World, 2006
has this page helped you understand "insurmountable"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "insurmountable" without saying "unbeatable" or "ineluctable."
try it out:
According to the BBC, small business owners are worried about how Brexit will affect their operations. Ben Thompson, who owns a cycle store in Scotland, might have to rewrite the contracts he holds with every single customer in Europe.
Realizing this, he said, "My heart sank... it's an insurmountable pile of bureaucracy for a small business."
Talk about a time when you, too, faced an insurmountable pile of something. Did you manage to surmount that pile after all? If so, how?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game last month was "Subject Line Crosswords."
From the previous issue:
Extra clues:
ACROSS
2. noun meaning "something that's irregular or unusual"
3. noun meaning "an odd, weird thing that someone does, usually by habit"
DOWN
1. verb meaning "to abuse or humiliate people publicly"
Answers:
If you like, you can review the words anomaly, eccentricity, and pillory.
Next up, our new game for February: Lightning Rhyming Recall!
In each issue this month, see how fast you can recall three words. They're unrelated in meaning--probably--but they rhyme. To check your answers, scroll to the bottom of the issue. We'll start out easy and ramp up the difficulty as the month goes on. Enjoy!
Each word below rhymes with CANE:
A. (1 syllable, noun) Something awful that causes great destruction is a…
B. (1 syllable, verb) To shrink in size or power is to…
C. (2 syllables, adjective) Something highly relevant or closely connected is...
review this word:
But a pretty close opposite of INSURMOUNTABLE is
A. VIABLE.
B. FATHOMABLE.
C. CONQUERABLE.
2. Haneef Sabree's book is titled _____ Insurmountable Odds.
A. Showing Your Hand: Revealing
B. Trumping a Fixed Deck: Defying
C. Playing with a Full Deck: Ensuring
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Are you an optimist? A climb-every-mountain kind of person? Someone who sees almost every problem as surmountable, or able to be climbed over? The word "surmount" came to us through French, ultimately from Latin, and you can almost see its Latin bits: super, meaning "over or above," and mons, meaning "mountain."
Part of speech: adjective: "an insurmountable problem," "the challenge seemed insurmountable at first."
If you find this word ugly, you're not alone. According to one linguist, "insurmountable" is a "ghastly philological monster." Okay, sure, it's a mouthful.
"I fell asleep listening to his slow, even breaths, his stubbornness finally melting away in the face of insurmountable fatigue."
Explain the meaning of "insurmountable" without saying "unbeatable" or "ineluctable."
According to the BBC, small business owners are worried about how Brexit will affect their operations. Ben Thompson, who owns a cycle store in Scotland, might have to rewrite the contracts he holds with every single customer in Europe.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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