Both Uses of
surmount
in
Atlas Shrugged
- You realize, of course, the insurmountable difficulties of any sort of construction job during this period of emergency.†
Chpt 3.3 *insurmountable = not able to be overcomestandard prefix: The prefix "in-" in insurmountable means not and reverses the meaning of surmountable. This is the same pattern you see in words like invisible, incomplete, and insecure.
- But the junction suddenly seemed an insurmountable distance away: on the shore of the Mississippi, at the Taggart Bridge.†
Chpt 3.10
Definitions:
-
(1)
(surmount) overcome (to successfully deal with an obstacle)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely, surmount may mean to get on top of, be on top of, or reach the highest point of.