different between insufferable vs excruciating

English

Etymology

in- +? sufferable

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): [?n?s?f??bl?]
• (US) enPR: ?n-s?f'?r-?-b?l, IPA^(key): /?n?s?f??b?l/, [?n?s?f??bl?]

Adjective

insufferable (comparative more insufferable, superlative most insufferable)

1. Not sufferable; very difficult or impossible to endure.
   • 1894, Henry James, The Coxon Fund, ch. 4:

     Saltram was incapable of keeping the engagements which, after their separation, he had entered into with regard to his wife, a deeply wronged, justly resentful, quite irreproachable and insufferable person.

   • 1913, Edith Wharton, The Custom of the Country, ch. 13:

     Marvell . . . thought Peter a bore in society and an insufferable nuisance on closer terms.

   • 2011 June 7, "Chaos in Syria," Time:

     The oppressive heat has become insufferable in Syria — and as the temperature climbs, emotions get harder to contain.

Synonyms

• intolerable, unbearable

Related terms

• insufferableness
• insufferably

Translations

References

• insufferable at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

Present participle of excruciate, from Latin excruci?, from ex- + cruci? (“I torment”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?k?sk?u??i?e?t??/, /?k?sk?u?si?e?t??/

Adjective

excruciating (comparative more excruciating, superlative most excruciating)

1. Causing great pain or anguish, agonizing
   • 2011, Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey, How Now Shall We Live?

     Sagan faced an excruciating dilemma: Should he remain true to his naturalistic philosophy and reject the marrow graft as something acquired by immoral means? Or should he agree to undergo the medical treatment in hope of saving his life

2. Exceedingly intense; extreme

Derived terms

• excruciatingly

Related terms

• cruciate
• excruciate

Translations