ineffable

adjective

in·​ef·​fa·​ble (ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-bəl 

1

a

: incapable of being expressed in words : indescribable

ineffable joy

b

: unspeakable

ineffable disgust

2

: not to be uttered : taboo

the ineffable name of Jehovah

ineffability

(ˌ)i-ˌne-fə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

ineffableness

(ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-bəl-nəs 

noun

ineffably

(ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-blē 

adverb

Did you know?

Breaking Down the Roots of Ineffable

"Every tone was a testimony against slavery, and a prayer to God for deliverance from chains. The hearing of those wild notes always depressed my spirit, and filled me with ineffable sadness," wrote Frederick Douglass in his autobiography. Reading Douglass's words, it's clear that ineffable means "indescribable" or "unspeakable." And when we break the word down to its Latin roots, we see how those meanings came about. Ineffable comes from ineffābilis, which joins the prefix in-, meaning "not," with the adjective effābilis, meaning "capable of being expressed." Effābilis comes from effārī, "to speak out," which in turn comes from ex- and fārī, meaning “to speak.”

Synonyms

• incommunicable
• indefinable
• indescribable
• inenarrable
• inexpressible
• nameless
• uncommunicable
• unspeakable
• unutterable

Examples of ineffable in a Sentence

an ineffable beauty descends upon the canyon as the sun begins to set

Recent Examples on the Web

Something ineffable in posture or spirit gave them away. —Greg Jackson, The New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2024

If Liu is a conduit, so too, in some ineffable sense, is Costanzo. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024

Read: The rise of anti-liberalism Annihilation is another conversion novel, this time about a secular Frenchman’s awakening to that same ineffable cosmos. —Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2024

In Bradley’s work, cosmetic spoons or spatulas exist primarily for hygiene reasons, but also lend an ineffable sense of… something. —Brennan Kilbane, Robb Report, 15 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin ineffabilis, from in- + effabilis capable of being expressed, from effari to speak out, from ex- + fari to speak — more at ban entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

ineffable

adjective

in·​ef·​fa·​ble (ˈ)in-ˈef-ə-bəl 

: impossible to express : inexpressible

ineffable joy

ineffability

(ˌ)in-ˌef-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

ineffably

(ˈ)in-ˈef-ə-blē 

adverb