Dictionary

indescribable en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ɪndɪˈskɹaɪbəbl̩/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From in- + describe + -able.

Meanings

1. Impossible (or very difficult) to describe.
   • He proved it with indescribable mathematics.
   • Presently the men set up the melancholy little chant that I had heard on the first night when we were captured in the whaleboat, and the effect produced by their voices was very curious, and quite indescribable. 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
   • But there was also about him an indescribable air which no mechanic could have acquired in the practice of his handicraft however dishonestly exercised: [...] the air of moral nihilism common to keepers of gambling hells and disorderly houses; [...] 1906 January–October, Joseph Conrad, chapter II, in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Collection of British Authors; 3995), copyright edition, London: Bernhard Tauchnitz, published 1907, →OCLC, page 15:
   • The beauty and brilliancy of this insect are indescribable, and none but a naturalist can understand the intense excitement I experienced when I at length captured it. 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co.:
2. Exceeding all description.
   • The time was when, had such an idea entered her mind, it would have been torture indescribable and agony the most intense; but then, subdued as was the usual warmth of her temperament, an awful suspension seemed to hold her feelings in control. 1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter XIV, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 182:
   • Our hotel had an indescribable view of the Bay of Naples.

Forms

Antonyms

specifiable · definable · common · describable · nameable · expressible · normal · expected

Deriveds

indescribableness

Relateds

unspeakable · incomprehensible · indescribably · indescribability · innumerable · lost for words

Synonyms

ineffable · unspeakable · unspecifiable · undefinable · indefinable · inutterable · inenarrable · unnameable · untold · indescribable · termless · indicible · nameless · inexpressible · undescribable · unutterable

Translations (55)

ru несказа́нный (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · cs nepopsatelný (exceeding all description) · cs nepopsatelný (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · de unbeschreiblich (exceeding all description) · nl onbeschrijfelijk (exceeding all description) · gl indescritíbel (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · sk neopísateľný (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · nl onbeschrijfelijk (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · ca indescriptible (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · be невыка́зны (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · de unbeschreiblich (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · hy աննկարագրելի (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · grc ἀνεκδιήγητος (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · cmn 不可名狀 /不可名状 (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · be неапіса́льны (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · la inēnarrābilis (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · ru неопису́емый (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · ro indescriptibil (exceeding all description) · pl nieopisywalny (exceeding all description) · ru неопису́емый (exceeding all description) · nb ubeskrivelig (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · gl indescritíbel (exceeding all description) · ja 言い表わせない (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · bg неописуем (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · fi sanoin kuvaamaton (exceeding all description) · gv neufocklagh (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · uk невимо́вний (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · el αχαρακτήριστος (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · pt indescritível (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · tr tarifsiz (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · ro indescriptibil (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · fi kuvaamaton (exceeding all description) · nn ubeskriveleg (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · pl nieopisany (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · fi kuvaamaton (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · fr indescriptible (exceeding all description) · fi sanoin kuvaamaton (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · fr indescriptible (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · ro inexprimabil (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · ru невырази́мый (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · es indescriptible (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · pt indescritível (exceeding all description) · cmn 無法形容 /无法形容 (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · ro de nedescris (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · sv obeskrivlig (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · uk неопи́саний (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · tr tarif edilemez (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · el απερίγραπτος (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · ca indescriptible (exceeding all description) · el ανεκδιήγητος (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · aig wapsoustieshis (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · el αδιήγητος (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · got 𐌿𐌽𐌿𐍃𐍃𐍀𐌹𐌻𐌻𐍉𐌸𐍃 (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · eo nepriskribebla (impossible, or very difficult to describe) · uk несказа́нний (impossible, or very difficult to describe)