Insufferability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The trait of being excessively difficult to tolerate due to overwhelming annoyance A quality marked by profound unlikability that hinders harmonious engagements The nature of being intolerably irritating or trying to others
2. The characteristic of being extremely hard to endure because of persistent irritation or aggravation
3. A condition where someone's behavior or nature causes significant discomfort and an unwillingness to accept

Etymology: The word "insufferability" is built from "insufferable," which is the adjective "insufferable" (from Latin "insufferabilis," literally "not able to be endured," from "in-" meaning "not" plus "sufferre," to bear or endure) with the suffix "-ity" added to turn a quality into a noun. English has used "insufferable" since the late Middle English period, when it carried the plain sense of something that could not be borne, whether pain, hardship, or injustice. Its move toward describing a person's personality came later, and the sense of a tiresomely unbearable character is the one that "insufferability" now emphasizes. The "-ity" suffix is the same one found in words like "ability" and "curiosity," and it attaches to adjectives to name their quality. So the noun shares its entire core with its adjective, and nothing about its construction is unusual. The interesting part is the grammar of the root: the Latin "sufferre" combined "sub-" and "ferre" (to carry), so the original image is of bearing a weight from below.

Synonyms: intolerance, unbearability