Nonresolvability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state or condition of being impossible to resolve or settle definitively; the quality of a problem or situation that defies solution or clear outcome; the characteristic of lacking a determinable or conclusive resolution
2. The condition in which an issue cannot be conclusively solved or clarified; the attribute of a matter resisting resolution or definite interpretation; a situation marked by the absence of a clear or final answer
3. The property of being incapable of resolution or definitive conclusion; the trait of a challenge or question not yielding to a solution; the state of uncertainty due to failure to achieve resolution

Etymology: Its deepest root is a knot. Latin "resolvere" meant "to loosen, unfasten, or dissolve," built from "re-" and "solvere," "to loosen." A problem that could be resolved was once a tangle that could be undone, and one that resisted was a knot that would not give. English took "resolve" through French, and it kept that physical sense of undoing for a long time before the senses of settling a dispute or reaching a decision took over. Firm determination grew from the image of a mind loosened from doubt and then settled. Dissolving a substance and solving a puzzle draw on the same metaphor. The term is built in layers: "non-" negates "resolvable," which is "resolve" plus "-able," and "-ity" turns the adjective into a noun for the quality. It is probably a later formation on the older verb, though its exact date of first use is uncertain.

Synonyms: indecidability, unsolvability, intractability

Antonyms: resolvability, solvability, decidability