inscrutable
adjective
in·scru·ta·ble
in-ˈskrü-tə-bəl 
: not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood : mysterious
an inscrutable smile
inscrutable motives
Did you know?
Scrutinizing the inscrutable may be futile: even close scrutiny can fail to decipher it. Scrutinizing the scrutable, on the other hand, is likely to yield some understanding. All of these scrut- words have the same Latin root: scrutari, meaning “to search or examine.” While scrutiny, scrutinize, and inscrutable all prove themselves useful in everyday discourse, English speakers don’t tend to call much on scrutable, which functions as a synonym of comprehensible.
Examples of inscrutable in a Sentence
Supersymmetry is a magic mirror, and everything in what we imagine to be the real world has its ghostly, inscrutable mirror image.
—
Ian Stewart, Prospect, September 2003
Of all the myths that have grown up around Alan Greenspan, the most powerful is the idea that he's willfully inscrutable.
—James Surowiecki, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2001
That wily politicians might adopt Franklin's distinction between appearance and reality to become inscrutable confidence men did not seem to trouble him.
—John H. Summers, Journal of American History, December 2000
an inscrutable work of art
He was a quiet, inscrutable man.
Ian Stewart, Prospect, September 2003
Of all the myths that have grown up around Alan Greenspan, the most powerful is the idea that he's willfully inscrutable.
—James Surowiecki, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2001
That wily politicians might adopt Franklin's distinction between appearance and reality to become inscrutable confidence men did not seem to trouble him.
—John H. Summers, Journal of American History, December 2000
an inscrutable work of art
He was a quiet, inscrutable man.
Recent Examples on the Web
To those outside of the techno-optimist bubble, plenty of the obsessions of the tech elite (artificial general intelligence, cryptocurrency) can come off as weird or inscrutable.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2025
The effect was to view non-European peoples as constitutionally bound by custom, impervious to progress, and inscrutable to the Western mind.
—Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2025
Computer vision doesn’t hallucinate because of an inscrutable deus inside the machina.
—Sonja Drimmer, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025
Sheff’s book is intent on humanizing Ono in relatable terms, responding directly the inscrutable image of her held by her detractors.
—Beatrice Loayza, ARTnews.com, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
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Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2025
The effect was to view non-European peoples as constitutionally bound by custom, impervious to progress, and inscrutable to the Western mind.
—Zachariah Mampilly, Foreign Affairs, 1 Apr. 2025
Computer vision doesn’t hallucinate because of an inscrutable deus inside the machina.
—Sonja Drimmer, Artforum, 1 Apr. 2025
Sheff’s book is intent on humanizing Ono in relatable terms, responding directly the inscrutable image of her held by her detractors.
—Beatrice Loayza, ARTnews.com, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Cite this Entry
“Inscrutable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inscrutable. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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inscrutable
adjective
in·scru·ta·ble
in-ˈskrüt-ə-bəl
: not easily understood : mysterious
an inscrutable expression
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