intractable

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"We've made progress on this really big, seemingly intractable question: why is there something instead of nothing?" said Professor Messier.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

Overlapping plots and jurisdictions trigger intractable land disputes.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

The term for Jean and Stephen, Julian says, is “rekindlers”—though they turn out to be “non-rekindlers,” as intractable problems impose a sad outcome on their fairy-tale romance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

Given that AI uses a tremendous amount of energy and water, public servants should be applying it towards solving society’s most intractable problems, not creating racist tropes or belittling people for exercising their democratic rights.

From Salon • Nov. 29, 2025

Unfortunately, the nanoseconds used up in a simple computer operation do add up to lengthy bottlenecks on intractable problems, many of which would require millennia to solve in general.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos