adjective

intractable

in-TRAK-tuh-bul/ɪnˈtræktəbl/

Difficult to manage or resolve.

The intractable knot remains tightly jammed despite the man's careful pulling.

A middle-aged Black man struggles to loosen a dense, stubborn knot in a thick rope on a plain worktable; despite careful pulling at two loops, the knot remains tightly jammed.

Etymology

inLatinnot

+tractLatinto handle, manage

+ableLatincapable of being

The pieces express “not capable of being handled.” Handling extends from physical touch to managing people or situations, so an intractable problem is one that resists being dealt with successfully.

In context

Lex Clips4:56

become just intractable to attack by direct brute force computation. Uh chess is another um famous example. The number of chess positions uh we can't get a computer to fully explore.

Terence Tao on Physics vs Math | Lex Fridman Podcast Clips

More examples

Her chronic pain remains intractable despite several treatments.
Even skilled teachers struggle with his intractable behavior.
The software update fails to fix an intractable technical problem.

Forms

intractable

intractability noun — The quality of being difficult to manage.

Similar words

unmanageable: Emphasizes difficulty controlling something rather than finding a solution.
stubborn: Emphasizes refusal to change, especially in people or attitudes.
insoluble: Describes problems with no solution, not merely difficult ones.