unplowable
Resists the blade
Land that is unplowable cannot be broken up and cultivated with a plow—too rocky, too steep, too wet, or otherwise unsuitable for tillage.
The hillside proved unplowable, so they converted it to pasture.
The word applies literally to difficult terrain and occasionally figuratively to anything resistant to being worked through or turned over.
Covered with stones
- stonyRocky or emotionless
- frozenSolidified by extreme cold
- waterloggedSaturated with liquid
- compactedPressed into less space
hardpan · rutted · boggy · marshy · swampy · steep · hilly · eroded
Refusing to give way
- intractableImpossible to manage
- stubbornRefusing to change course
- obstinateFirmly refusing to yield
- imperviousUnable to be affected
immovable · unworkable · unbreakable · adamant · defiant · unconquerable · unbending · recalcitrant
rocky
Covered with stones
- stonyRocky or emotionless
- frozenSolidified by extreme cold
- waterloggedSaturated with liquid
compacted · hardpan · rutted · boggy · marshy · swampy · steep · hilly · eroded · root-bound
unyielding
Refusing to give way
- intractableImpossible to manage
- stubbornRefusing to change course
- obstinateFirmly refusing to yield
impervious · immovable · unworkable · unbreakable · adamant · defiant · unconquerable · unbending · recalcitrant · indomitable
barren
Unable to produce
unproductive · fruitless · inhospitable · bleak · parched · lifeless · exhausted · depleted · saline · alkaline