insoluble

English

Etymology

From Middle English insolible, from Middle French insoluble, from Latin insolūbilis, from in- +‎ solūbilis. Equivalent to in- +‎ soluble. Piecewise doublet of insolvable and unsolvable.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsɒljʊbəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈsɑljəbəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

insoluble (comparative more insoluble, superlative most insoluble)

1. (physical chemistry) That cannot be dissolved. For example, petroleum is largely insoluble in water.
2. That cannot be solved; unsolvable; insolvable.
3. That cannot be explained; mysterious or inexplicable.
4. That cannot be broken down or dispersed.

Synonyms

• (not explainable): inexplicable; See Thesaurus:incomprehensible or Thesaurus:mysterious

Antonyms

• soluble

Derived terms

• insolubility
• insolubilize
• insolubleness
• insolubly

 

Translations

not soluble; that cannot be dissolved

• Armenian: անլուծելի (hy) (anluceli), չլուծվող (čʻlucvoġ)
• Bulgarian: неразтворим (bg) (neraztvorim)
• Catalan: insoluble (ca)
• Czech: nerozpustný (cs)
• Dutch: onoplosbaar (nl)
• Finnish: liukenematon (fi)
• German: unlösbar (de)
• Italian: insolubile (it)
• Japanese: 溶けない (ja) (tokenai), 不溶の (ja) (fuyō no)
• Maori: mehakore
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: uløselig

• Polish: nierozpuszczalny (pl)
• Portuguese: insolúvel
• Romanian: insolubil (ro)
• Spanish: insoluble (es)
• Swedish: olöslig (sv)
• Tagalog: dilusawin
• Welsh: anhydawdd (cy)

not solvable; that cannot be solved

• Armenian: անլուծելի (hy) (anluceli)
• Bulgarian: нерешим (nerešim)
• Catalan: insoluble (ca)
• Czech: neřešitelný (cs)
• Dutch: onoplosbaar (nl)
• Finnish: ratkeamaton, ratkaisematon (fi)
• German: unlösbar (de)
• Greek: αξεδιάλυτος (el) (axediálytos)
• Italian: insolubile (it)
• Japanese: 解けない (ja) (tokenai), 割り切れない (warikirenai), 不可解な (ja) (fukakai na)

not explainable

• Armenian: անբացատրելի (hy) (anbacʻatreli)
• Bulgarian: необясним (bg) (neobjasnim)
• Dutch: onverklaarbaar (nl)
• Finnish: selittämätön
• German: unerklärlich (de)
• Italian: inspiegabile (it)
• Japanese: 解けない (ja) (tokenai), 割り切れない (warikirenai), 不可解な (ja) (fukakai na)

Noun

insoluble (plural insolubles)

1. Any substance that cannot be dissolved.
   • 2006, Ashok Pandey, Enzyme Technology, page 518:

     As there is a partial vacuum inside the drum, the liquid is sucked inside the drum and the insolubles are deposited on the outer surface of the membrane filter.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin īnsolūbilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [in.suˈlub.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [in.soˈlu.ble]

Adjective

insoluble m or f (masculine and feminine plural insolubles)

1. insoluble
2. unsolvable

Further reading

• “insoluble” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “insoluble”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “insoluble” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “insoluble” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From Latin īnsolūbilis.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

insoluble (plural insolubles)

1. (chemistry) insoluble
2. (mathematics) insoluble

Further reading

• “insoluble”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin īnsolūbilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /insoˈluble/ [ĩn.soˈlu.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -uble
• Syllabification: in‧so‧lu‧ble

Adjective

insoluble m or f (masculine and feminine plural insolubles)

1. insoluble
2. unsolvable

Further reading

• “insoluble”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014