intractable

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mr. Macmillan doesn’t lose sight of the central truths about clinical depression: that the causes are often inscrutable, its persistence can be intractable, and temporary relief often leads only to recurrence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

"We've made progress on this really big, seemingly intractable question: why is there something instead of nothing?" said Professor Messier.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

Overlapping plots and jurisdictions trigger intractable land disputes.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Given that AI uses a tremendous amount of energy and water, public servants should be applying it towards solving society’s most intractable problems, not creating racist tropes or belittling people for exercising their democratic rights.

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2025

Many mathematical problems are so intractable, and experiments involving them so expensive, that this kind of probabilistic simulation is the only alternative to giving up on them.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos