intolerablein‧tol‧e‧ra‧ble /ɪnˈtɒlərəbəl $ -ˈtɑː-/ ●○○ adjective 
‘This is intolerable!’ exclaimed Sir Rufus. The pain had become intolerable.intolerable burden/strain/pressure Caring for an elderly relative can become an intolerable burden.—intolerably adverb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- All the media attention during the trial had put the family under intolerable strain.
- Living conditions at the camp were intolerable.
- Passengers faced intolerable delays and disruption due to the bad weather conditions.
Longman Language Activatorwhen a situation is so bad that you cannot stand it
also can't bear especially British to be unable to accept an unpleasant situation: · Europeans never stay there for long. They can't stand the heat.· I can't bear the smell of stale cigarette smoke in her hair.can't stand/bear the thought of something: · She couldn't stand the thought of losing her children.can't stand/bear to do something/can't stand/bear doing something: · I couldn't bear to listen to her screams.
especially spoken to be unable to accept an unpleasant situation without becoming angry or upset, especially when someone's behaviour is not fair or reasonable: · Careful what you say - he can't take criticism.· She just keeps crying and throwing tantrums - I can't handle much more of it.can't take/handle something any more: · I just couldn't take it any more. I left the next day.
to be unable to stand something because thinking about it makes you feel sick or angry: · He really can't stomach the sight of blood.
formal to be completely unable to stand someone or something that is very annoying: · If there's one thing I cannot abide, it's spoilt children.· Mary couldn't abide shopping on Saturdays because the stores were always so crowded.
something that is unbearable , such as a pain or a bad situation, is too bad for you to deal with or live with: · Without him, my life would be unbearable.· The stench from the sink was almost unbearable.· The strain eventually became unbearable, and Adam started seeing a psychiatrist.
too difficult, unpleasant, or annoying to stand: · Living conditions at the camp were intolerable.· Passengers faced intolerable delays and disruption due to the bad weather conditions.· All the media attention during the trial had put the family under intolerable strain.
something that is unacceptable is wrong and cannot be accepted or allowed to continue: · Most women said they thought the ruling was unfair and unacceptable.· The plan was rejected because it involved an "unacceptable risk to public safety'.· We regard the idea of being able to choose the sex of your baby as wholly unacceptable.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Caring for an elderly relative can become an intolerable burden.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
too difficult, bad, annoying etc for you to accept or deal with OPP tolerable: Caring for an elderly relative can become an intolerable burden. (=very hard to bear)· Too many exams can place an intolerable burden on young people.
(=too great to bear)· The cost of these wars put an intolerable strain on the economy.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· They have created an intolerable burden on people on low incomes.· And one night, I knew that he found himself an intolerable burden, and that in the woods he lost himself.
· Small debts could rapidly mount up and begin to exert intolerable pressure on the relationship between husband and wife. 1.· It would put intolerable pressure on the limited number of parliamentary lavatories.· Were people put under intolerable pressure to deliver?
· For her it would be an intolerable situation.· This is an intolerable situation and society has to remove those who will not conform to reasonable standards of behaviour.· But the rise of a centre party since the mid 1970s has created an intolerable situation.
· To accept them all would place an intolerable strain on her health, but she rarely fails to help a charity.· The fund's other trustees had left and he was under an intolerable strain, working more than 12 hours a day.· Suddenly they gave under the intolerable strain, ripped free from their mountings and crashed to the ground.· Is your cabinet under an intolerable strain.
‘This is intolerable!’ exclaimed Sir Rufus. The pain had become intolerable.intolerable burden/strain/pressure Caring for an elderly relative can become an intolerable burden.—intolerably adverb