Unspreadable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not capable of being distributed or extended over an area or surface; resistant to being made widely accessible or shared; difficult or impossible to disperse widely
2. Incapable of being spread out or expanded across space; unable to be disseminated or propagated broadly; resisting or preventing distribution or circulation
3. Unable to be stretched or unfolded over a surface; not possible to distribute or broadcast broadly; resistant to being spread or diffused in any form

Etymology: "Unspreadable" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-", meaning "not," attached to "spreadable," which itself is built from the verb "spread" and the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being." Put together, the word describes something that cannot be spread, whether that means a substance that will not coat a surface or an idea that resists wide circulation. The verb "spread" is of Old English descent, from "sprǣdan," and the suffix "-able" came into English through Old French from Latin "-abilis." Neither piece is unusual on its own, which is why the combination reads as transparent: a speaker can build "unspreadable" on the spot from familiar parts, and most listeners will understand it at once without needing a dictionary.

Synonyms: nonspreadable, nonspreading, unstretchable

Antonyms: spreadable, spread, expandable