ineffability en · NOUN
Etymology
From Latin ineffabilitas.
Meanings
-
(uncountable, usually) The quality or state of being ineffable.
To him, the spirit lodged within Billy, and looking out from his welkin eyes as from windows, that ineffability it was which made the dimple in his dyed cheek, suppled his joints, and dancing in his yellow curls made him preeminently the Handsome Sailor.
1924, Herman Melville, chapter 11, in Billy Budd, London: Constable & Co.:But recently, physiological studies of ritual have suggested that the ineffability of intense emotional, transformative states may be due to the dominance of right brain activity.
1990, Barbara Myerhoff, “The transformation of consciousness in ritual performances: some thoughts and questions”, in Richard Schechner, Willa Appel, editors, By Means of Performance: Intercultural Studies of Theatre and Ritual, Cambridge University Press, page 245:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ineffabilities | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
speakableness · describability · effability · expressibility · speakability
Synonyms
inexpressibility · ineffableness · unspeakability · indescribability · unspeakableness
Translations (12)
pt inefabilidade (quality or state of being ineffable) · es inefabilidad (quality or state of being ineffable) · ro inefabilitate (quality or state of being ineffable) · bg неизразимост (quality or state of being ineffable) · de Unaussprechlichkeit (quality or state of being ineffable) · de Unsäglichkeit (quality or state of being ineffable) · ca inefabilitat (quality or state of being ineffable) · pl niewypowiadalność (quality or state of being ineffable) · de Unsagbarkeit (quality or state of being ineffable) · de Unbeschreiblichkeit (quality or state of being ineffable) · fr ineffabilité (quality or state of being ineffable) · de Unsäglichsein (quality or state of being ineffable)