incomprehensible

adjective

in·​com·​pre·​hen·​si·​ble (ˌ)in-ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-sə-bəl 

1

: impossible to comprehend : unintelligible

incomprehensible instructions

2

archaic : having or subject to no limits

incomprehensibility

(ˌ)in-ˌkäm-pri-ˌhen(t)-sə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

incomprehensibleness noun

incomprehensibly

(ˌ)in-ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-sə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• impenetrable
• unfathomable
• ungraspable
• unintelligible

Examples of incomprehensible in a Sentence

I found his behavior utterly incomprehensible.

It's incomprehensible to me that he could have acted that way.

Recent Examples on the Web

In between are pieces that stretch the definition of what a song even is, an idea Walker would push to incomprehensible extremes in his later work. —Spin Staff, SPIN, 30 Sep. 2024

Your man could have poor hygiene, or a drug problem, or an incomprehensible hobby. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 15 Oct. 2024

According to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Nolichucky Dam withstood nearly twice the water flow of the iconic Niagara Falls during Hurricane Helene—an incomprehensible amount of water. —Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 3 Oct. 2024

The skit wasn’t the sharpest, even by SNL standards, and viewers who haven’t kept up with these headlines likely found the whole thing to be incomprehensible. —Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin incomprehensibilis, from in- + comprehensibilis comprehensible

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

incomprehensible

adjective

in·​com·​pre·​hen·​si·​ble (ˌ)in-ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-sə-bəl 

: impossible to understand

found their behavior incomprehensible

incomprehensibility

-ˌhen(t)-sə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

incomprehensibly

-ˈhen(t)-sə-blē 

adverb