intractable to determine

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "intractable to determine" is not correct in standard written English.
A more appropriate phrase would be "difficult to determine" or "hard to determine." Example: "The results of the experiment were intractable to determine, leading to further investigation."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

2 human-written examples

For realistic population sizes of the lichens it quickly becomes intractable to determine the initial conditions by brute force and we shall therefore implement a Monte Carlo method.

Plosone

As is the case for predicting the structural modifications resulting from biotransformation, a purely experimental approach will likely be intractable to determine the regulatory effects of xenobiotic chemicals on CYP enzymes, which may be mediated by ligand-activated nuclear receptors [ 70] controlling the expression of the enzymes.

BMC Systems Biology

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

MEG is a useful tool in children with intractable focal epilepsy to determine the surgical candidacy and focal cortical resection to stop seizures.

International Journal of Psychophysiology

But while such problems are in general computationally intractable, it is seldom necessary to determine the Pareto optimal set exactly.

European Journal of Operational Research

"enlisted the help of people undergoing brain surgery to determine the location of intractable seizures so that the area can be removed in a second surgery.

Huffington Post

Isabella Karle, who was also a chemist at the Naval Research Laboratory, joined her husband in the work, employing X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of previously intractable molecules.

The New York Times - Health

If other amyloid peptides can be inserted into stable protein hosts and the stabilities of these host-guest mutants determined, this novel host-guest method may prove useful to determine structural preferences of these intractable but biologically relevant protein fragments.

Biophysical Journal

Having a control group of ECMO patients with intractable bleeding but not treated with rFVIIa might have helped to determine whether the outcome would have been better with rFVIIa.

Critical Care

This study was to determine the long-term outcomes of arterial pelvic embolization for intractable postpartum hemorrhage and particularly its effect on menses, fertility, and outcomes of subsequent pregnancies.

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

We wanted to determine whether tau reduction may also be of benefit in intractable genetic epilepsies.

Annals of Neurology

The integrals presented in Equations 55 and 63 are computed using MATLAB in order to determine the average BER, because the calculation of these integrals is intractable.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing something difficult to determine, opt for more common and grammatically accepted alternatives such as "difficult to ascertain" or "hard to determine". These phrases offer clarity and are widely understood.

Common error

Avoid using unnecessarily complex phrasing like "intractable to determine" when simpler alternatives such as "difficult to determine" or "hard to ascertain" convey the same meaning with greater clarity and grammatical correctness.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "intractable to determine" functions as a descriptor, aiming to express that something is exceedingly difficult or impossible to establish or ascertain. Ludwig notes it's not considered standard written English.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

60%

News & Media

40%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "intractable to determine" appears in some sources, Ludwig identifies it as not correct in standard written English. It aims to convey extreme difficulty in ascertaining something. Given its questionable grammatical status, it is best to opt for clearer and more accepted alternatives like "difficult to determine" or "hard to ascertain". Although the phrase appears in both science and news contexts, its use is rare, and its formal tone may not compensate for the grammatical concerns.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

hard to determine

Uses simpler and more direct language to convey the difficulty of determination.

difficult to ascertain

Replaces "intractable" with a more common synonym, focusing on the difficulty of finding something out.

cannot be determined

Expresses the inability to determine something due to limitations or obstacles.

impossible to ascertain

Emphasizes the impossibility of finding something out, rather than just difficulty.

challenging to evaluate

Focuses on the difficulty of assessing or judging something.

not possible to determine

Directly states the impossibility of determining something.

unfeasible to determine

Highlights the impracticality of determining something.

beyond determination

Suggests that something is impossible to determine, often due to its nature or complexity.

undetermined

Indicates that something has not yet been decided or established.

resistant to determination

Implies that something actively resists being determined or understood.

FAQs

What does "intractable to determine" mean?

While not grammatically ideal, "intractable to determine" is sometimes used to describe something that is very difficult or impossible to figure out or establish.

Is "intractable to determine" grammatically correct?

Ludwig AI identifies "intractable to determine" as not correct in standard written English. It's advisable to use alternatives like "difficult to determine" or "hard to ascertain".

What can I say instead of "intractable to determine"?

You can use alternatives like "difficult to ascertain", "hard to determine", or "impossible to ascertain" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "intractable to determine" or "difficult to determine"?

"Difficult to determine" is the preferred choice. Ludwig AI indicates that "intractable to determine" is not standard written English.