Impassable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not capable of being crossed or traversed due to significant barriers or challenging conditions
2. Incapable of being navigated or accessed because of overwhelming obstacles or adverse terrain
3. Impossible to cross or move through because of obstacles or conditions that block the way

Etymology: Impassable is a plain construction: "im-" (a negating prefix, from Latin "in-"), attached to "pass" and the suffix "-able," meaning capable of being done. The base "pass" came into English from Old French "passer," which goes back to Vulgar Latin "passare," a verb derived from the Latin noun "passus," meaning a step or pace. So the word's core sense is literally "not able to be stepped through" or "not able to be gone past." The "pass" element carries that physical meaning of walking or stepping. A mountain route, a river crossing, or a swamp that cannot be traversed is impassable, and the word has stayed close to that concrete picture of travel blocked by terrain or obstruction.

Synonyms: unreachable, inaccessible, blocked, obstructed

Antonyms: passable, accessible