insurmountable difficulties

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "insurmountable difficulties" is grammatically correct and can be used in written English.
It is often used to describe challenges or obstacles that are difficult or impossible to overcome. Example: Despite facing numerous insurmountable difficulties, the team refused to give up and eventually achieved their goal of winning the championship.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Academia

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

38 human-written examples

Not long ago, gene therapy seemed troubled by insurmountable difficulties.

The New York Times - Health

Our current health-care system — bloated, Byzantine, and slowly bursting — presents seemingly insurmountable difficulties.

The New Yorker

Our current health-care system bloated, Byzantine, and slowly bursting presents seemingly insurmountable difficulties.

The New Yorker

Attempts to use conventional techniques have encountered insurmountable difficulties, due to excessive CPU time requirements of the computations involved.

Journal of Computational Physics

By contrast, attempts to dissect fragments or peptides from well folded β-sheet proteins have met with insurmountable difficulties.

Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA)

But Mr. Elchibey faced insurmountable difficulties in the heavily Armenian section of western Azerbaijan known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

22 human-written examples

No... * The insurmountable difficulty with oil is that there is a finite supply but growing demands.

Independent

The marines don't question their mission, but they describe the almost insurmountable difficulty of executing it.

The New York Times - Arts

In multi-axis machine tool systems, the configuration of system gains and the coordination of redundant degrees of freedom are often a problem of insurmountable difficulty.

Computers & Industrial Engineering

The American military routinely reviews the effectiveness of its air raids, but by its own admission it has faced insurmountable difficulty in tracking the toll of civilian deaths.

The New York Times

But the Stormont report writers did "not expect any insurmountable difficulty" in bringing down the barricades once the violence had subsumed.

The Guardian

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "insurmountable difficulties", ensure the context clearly supports the assertion that the difficulties are, in fact, impossible to overcome. Overstating the severity can weaken your argument.

Common error

Avoid using "insurmountable difficulties" when "significant challenges" or "major obstacles" would be more appropriate. Reserve it for situations where resolution truly seems impossible.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "insurmountable difficulties" functions as a noun phrase, where the adjective "insurmountable" modifies the noun "difficulties". It describes challenges that seem impossible to overcome. This usage is supported by Ludwig, which provides various examples across different contexts.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

36%

Academia

12%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

8%

Wiki

4%

Formal & Business

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "insurmountable difficulties" is a grammatically correct and commonly used phrase to describe challenges that appear impossible to overcome. Ludwig's analysis, and the variety of real-world examples, underscore its usage across news, science, and academic domains. When using the phrase, it's important to ensure that the context genuinely reflects the seemingly impossible nature of the challenges being described. Remember to consider alternatives like "insurmountable obstacles" or "unconquerable difficulties" depending on the nuances you want to convey. Ludwig AI confirms its validity and appropriateness in diverse writing contexts.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

insurmountable obstacles

Replaces "difficulties" with "obstacles", maintaining the sense of something that cannot be overcome.

insurmountable challenges

Substitutes "difficulties" with "challenges", emphasizing the demanding nature of the situation.

insuperable difficulties

Synonym replacement for "insurmountable", maintaining the same meaning.

insurmountable problems

Replaces "difficulties" with "problems", focusing on the troublesome aspect.

unconquerable difficulties

Replaces "insurmountable" with "unconquerable", highlighting the impossibility of overcoming the issues.

unresolvable difficulties

Replaces "insurmountable" with "unresolvable", shifting the focus to the lack of a solution.

unbeatable difficulties

Replaces "insurmountable" with "unbeatable", highlighting the impossibility of finding a winning strategy.

impossible difficulties

Replaces "insurmountable" with "impossible", suggesting the difficulties cannot be addressed at all.

insurmountable setbacks

Substitutes "difficulties" with "setbacks", emphasizing hindrances to progress.

insurmountable barriers

Replaces "difficulties" with "barriers", highlighting obstructions that cannot be passed.

FAQs

How can I use "insurmountable difficulties" in a sentence?

Use "insurmountable difficulties" to describe problems that appear impossible to solve. For example, "The project faced "insurmountable difficulties" due to lack of funding."

What are some alternatives to "insurmountable difficulties"?

You can use alternatives like "insurmountable obstacles", "insurmountable challenges", or "unconquerable difficulties".

Is it correct to say "almost insurmountable difficulties"?

Yes, saying "almost insurmountable difficulties" is correct. It indicates that the difficulties are very hard to overcome but not entirely impossible.

What is the difference between "insurmountable difficulties" and "significant difficulties"?

"Insurmountable difficulties" suggests the problems are impossible to overcome, while "significant difficulties" implies they are substantial but still potentially manageable.