untreatable

untreatable — adjective

  • untreatablepositive
  • more untreatablecomparative
  • most untreatablesuperlative

1. A medical condition or disease that is untreatable cannot be cured or improved b

1.形容詞B2
釋義

A medical condition or disease that is untreatable cannot be cured or improved by any known medicine, surgery, or therapy — doctors have no way to stop it from getting worse.

例句

Femi was told that his father's lung cancer was untreatable and had spread to the bones.

be + untreatable (copular construction)

The rare virus remained untreatable for decades until a team in Nairobi developed a new drug.

remain + untreatable (linking verb)

同義詞
  • incurable

    the most common synonym; used for any disease that cannot be cured, while 'untreatable' can also mean no therapy exists to slow its progression

  • terminal

    focuses on the fatal outcome rather than the lack of treatment — a terminal illness will cause death even if symptoms can be treated

  • inoperable

    only used for conditions (especially tumours) that cannot be removed by surgery; the condition might still respond to other treatments

反義詞
  • treatable

    direct opposite; a condition that can be cured or managed with available medical care

  • curable

    stronger opposite — can be completely cured, not just managed

文法句型

untreatable + noun

be + untreatable

用法筆記

Frequently used with verbs like 'be', 'remain', 'become', or passive reporting verbs ('is considered', 'was declared'). Often followed by a noun describing a disease or injury (an untreatable wound, an untreatable form of cancer).

常見錯誤

The doctor said the pain was untreatable so he gave me pills.
The doctor said the disease was untreatable so he focused on pain management.
💡'Untreatable' describes the disease/condition itself, not the symptom like pain, which can usually be managed.
She caught an untreatable cold.
She caught a cold that would not go away.
💡A common cold is minor and self-limiting; 'untreatable' is reserved for serious, medically incurable conditions.