intractable

English

Etymology

From in- +‎ tractable

Adjective

intractable (comparative more intractable, superlative most intractable)

1. Not tractable; not able to be managed, controlled, governed or directed.
   • 1972, Edsger W. Dijkstra, The Humble Programmer (EWD340):

     And I cannot but expect that this will repeatedly lead to the discovery that an initially intractable problem can be factored after all.

2. (mathematics) (of a mathematical problem) Not able to be solved.
3. (of a problem) Difficult to deal with, solve, or manage.
4. (of a person) Stubborn; obstinate.
5. (medicine) Difficult to treat (of a medical condition).

Derived terms

• intractability
• intractableness
• intractably

Translations

not tractable

• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: неподатлив (bg) (nepodatliv), непокорен (bg) (nepokoren)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 難控制的, 难控制的 (nán kòngzhì de), 難解決的, 难解决的 (nán jiějué de)

• Czech: nezvladatelný m
• Dutch: onhandelbaar (nl)
• Finnish: vaikea (fi), hankala (fi), uppiniskainen, itsepäinen (fi), omapäinen (fi)
• French: ingouvernable (fr)

• German: schwer handhabbar, verfahren (de)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Occitan: intractable
• Russian: неуправляемый (ru) (neupravljajemyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: intraktabilan, nesavladiv (sh)
• Spanish: inmanejable (es) m or f
• Swedish: ohanterlig

mathematics: not able to be solved

• Finnish: ratkaisematon (fi)

• Russian: неразрешимый (ru) (nerazrešimyj)

of a problem: difficult to deal with, solve, or manage

• Finnish: vaikea (fi), hankala (fi), visainen (fi)

• Russian: трудноразрешимый (ru) (trudnorazrešimyj)

stubborn

• Bulgarian: упорит (bg) (uporit)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 倔強 (zh), 倔强 (zh) (juéjiàng)

• Dutch: obstinaat (nl), koppig (nl)
• Finnish: itsepäinen (fi), omapäinen (fi), omavaltainen, vaikea (fi)
• French: intraitable (fr), buté (fr)
• German: störrisch (de), stur (de)

• Maori: kakī mārō
• Occitan: intractable
• Russian: упря́мый (ru) (uprjámyj), непода́тливый (ru) (nepodátlivyj), непоко́рный (ru) (nepokórnyj)
• Spanish: obstinado (es) m
• Swedish: omedgörlig (sv)

medicine: difficult to treat

• Bulgarian: упорит (bg) (uporit)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 難治癒的, 难治愈的 (nán zhìyù de)

• Finnish: itsepintainen (fi), vaikea (fi)
• French: intraitable (fr)
• German: schwierig zu behandeln (‘unbehandelbar’ means impossible to treat)

• Occitan: intractable
• Russian: трудноизлечи́мый (ru) (trudnoizlečímyj)
• Spanish: intratable (es) m
• Swedish: svårbehandlad

References

• intractable in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911.
• intractable in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.