Skip to content
ontologydriven
Sign out

Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

unpredictable en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English predict Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English predictable English unpredictable From un- + predictable.

Meanings

  1. Unable to be predicted.
    • Sharks are not unpredictable; for the most part, they do exactly what an apex predator is expected to do. 1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 146:
    • It has, therefore, always been a major problem for South African railways to cater adequately for this unpredictable city; three stations have had to be built on the present site during the last fifty years. 1958 September 14, C. Alan Cook, “Johannesburg's Fourth Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 639:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
more unpredictable Degree=Cmp lexicographic
most unpredictable Degree=Sup lexicographic

Antonyms

predictable

Deriveds

unpredictability · unpredictably · unpredictableness

Hyponyms

temperamental

Relateds

unpredicted · unpredictive

Synonyms

vagabond · nonpredictable

Translations (39)

nl onvoorspelbaar (unable to be predicted) · ko 예측할 수 없다 (unable to be predicted) · cs nepředvídatelný (unable to be predicted) · mk непредвидлив (unable to be predicted) · ca imprevisible (unable to be predicted) · sk nepredvídateľný (unable to be predicted) · fi ennustamaton (unable to be predicted) · be непрадказа́льны (unable to be predicted) · da uforudsigelig (unable to be predicted) · sh nepredvìdljiv (unable to be predicted) · uk непередба́чуваний (unable to be predicted) · cmn 不可預知的 /不可预知的 (unable to be predicted) · mi matawhawhati (unable to be predicted) · sl nepredvidljiv (unable to be predicted) · fr imprévisible (unable to be predicted) · pl nieprzewidywalny (unable to be predicted) · hy անկանխատեսելի (unable to be predicted) · hu kiszámíthatatlan (unable to be predicted) · es impredecible (unable to be predicted) · sv oförutsägbar (unable to be predicted) · nb uforutsigbar (unable to be predicted) · he בלתי צפוי (unable to be predicted) · pt imprevisível (unable to be predicted) · ro impredictibil (unable to be predicted) · ro neprevizibil (unable to be predicted) · is óútreiknanlegur (unable to be predicted) · bg непредсказу́ем (unable to be predicted) · de unvorhersagbar (unable to be predicted) · is ófyrirsjáanlegur (unable to be predicted) · fi odottamaton (unable to be predicted) · ja 先が見えない (unable to be predicted) · fi ennalta-arvaamaton (unable to be predicted) · it imprevedibile (unable to be predicted) · fa غیر قابل پیشبینی (unable to be predicted) · ro imprevizibil (unable to be predicted) · mi kumukumu (unable to be predicted) · ja 予測できない (unable to be predicted) · ru непредсказу́емый (unable to be predicted) · sh непредвѝдљив (unable to be predicted)

unpredictable en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- English predict Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English predictable English unpredictable From un- + predictable.

Meanings

  1. An unpredictable thing.
    • Other unpredictables, like the recent unexpected blizzards and those of 2 years ago, or a hurricane can cost us many thousands of dollars, and have a severe impact on equipment and facilities. 1960, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Motor Vehicle Safety: Hearing..., page 12:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
unpredictables Number=Plur lexicographic

Translations (8)

ja 一寸先は闇 (unpredictable thing) · fi yllätys (unpredictable thing) · it imprevisto (unpredictable thing) · de Unvorhersehbares (unpredictable thing) · he בלתי צפוי (unpredictable thing) · zh 不可預知的事情 (unpredictable thing) · zh 不可预知的事情 (unpredictable thing) · fr imprévisible (unpredictable thing)