as in ineffable
beyond the power to describe
the vastness of the universe is incommunicable
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Recent Examples of incommunicable
Piranesi is a mystery, a mystery of the mind, a way for Clarke to communicate the incommunicable.
—
Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
And nothing is more isolating, more incommunicable, than the grief of a parent who has been unable to save their child’s life.
—Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022
In a way, Tiffany’s rendering of fandom as specific and incommunicable risks undermining her premise, which has to do with the massed power of people online.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 June 2022
Abstract artists, including Alberto Burri, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Jack Whitten and Mark Bradford, all found unique ways to use such materials to conjure the weight of incommunicable things.
—Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2021
After more than a decade away, the author is back with Piranesi, a way to communicate the incommunicable.
—Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
But the works test, in the depths of the incommunicable, the degree of anyone’s courage to envisage the bad in life, the worse, and the almost inconceivably abysmal.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2020
In one panel, Mary, at the foot of the cross, makes a recognizable gesture — suggesting grief or astonishment so great, so fundamentally incommunicable, that one covers one’s mouth — similar to that made by Matisse’s central bather.
—Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2020
What surprised me was the poetic potential of scurvy, with its awfulness and that terrible sense of isolation, when the possibility of ecstatic delights was inconceivable and incommunicable.
—National Geographic, 15 Jan. 2017
Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
And nothing is more isolating, more incommunicable, than the grief of a parent who has been unable to save their child’s life.
—Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022
In a way, Tiffany’s rendering of fandom as specific and incommunicable risks undermining her premise, which has to do with the massed power of people online.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 June 2022
Abstract artists, including Alberto Burri, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Jack Whitten and Mark Bradford, all found unique ways to use such materials to conjure the weight of incommunicable things.
—Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2021
After more than a decade away, the author is back with Piranesi, a way to communicate the incommunicable.
—Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
But the works test, in the depths of the incommunicable, the degree of anyone’s courage to envisage the bad in life, the worse, and the almost inconceivably abysmal.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2020
In one panel, Mary, at the foot of the cross, makes a recognizable gesture — suggesting grief or astonishment so great, so fundamentally incommunicable, that one covers one’s mouth — similar to that made by Matisse’s central bather.
—Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2020
What surprised me was the poetic potential of scurvy, with its awfulness and that terrible sense of isolation, when the possibility of ecstatic delights was inconceivable and incommunicable.
—National Geographic, 15 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incommunicable
Adjective
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There are also plenty of new songs (even the trio of musical numbers carried over from the original have extensive new lyrics from Benj Pasek and Justin Paul), though none of them have the same special, ineffable quality of the originals.—
Josh Spiegel,
The Hollywood Reporter,
22 Mar. 2025
-
The telescope will observe each ecliptic pole once every orbit all mission long, seeking something seemingly ineffable: the faint signal of all the light emitted over the universe’s history, which SPHEREx scientists will then parse out across time.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Under three pounds is extremely impressive for a two-person backpacking tent, and this setup manages to offer incredible weight reduction at a budget price.—
Alice Bennett,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Sir Elton has exemplified these ideals throughout his extraordinary career, not only with his incredible musical catalogue and immense talent but also championing emerging artists across genres and using his global platform to inspire transformational humanistic change.—
Paul Grein,
Billboard,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Historians are struggling to recover their inexpressible secrets.—
Erin Maglaque,
The New York Review of Books,
15 Nov. 2024
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Indeed, there is something more cosmic, spiritual and inexpressible about what is missing —a poignant reminder of the profound void left by SOPHIE’s departure from our astral plane.—
Juan Velasquez,
Them,
23 Sep. 2024
Adjective
-
More to Explore What is Fundamentalism? Livia Gershon November 28, 2022 Fundamentalism, which shifts the balance between authority structures and the indescribable divine, emerged after medieval society gave way to the modern.—
Andrew Latham,
JSTOR Daily,
27 Mar. 2025
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Holding her baby for the first time was indescribable.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Guralnick / Detroit News / AP file An alternative medicine clinic where a Michigan boy suffered an unspeakable death has put a spotlight on the largely unregulated world of hyperbaric oxygen therapy that is offered outside of hospitals.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC News,
17 Mar. 2025
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Even if those two men didn’t make it out of Europe alive, the unspeakable acts carried out in the name of Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich would still live on in infamy, reminding humanity what blind hatred and xenophobia could lead to if a society wasn’t careful.—
Josh Weiss,
Forbes,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Her work often explores indefinable experiences and emotions, intimacy, connection, and the body’s relationship to nature.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 2025
-
An indefinable musical by a French auteur is headed for millions of streaming subscribers.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Two high voices — LACO features soprano Amanda Forsythe and countertenor John Holiday — intertwine with the orchestra turning this hymn to the Virgin Mary’s suffering into unutterable sweetness and treating death as life’s engenderment.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2024
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In between loads of cartoonish ultraviolence and B-movie horror ephemera came some honestly unutterable lyrics, which Bill fought his faith to perform.—
Jonathan Rowe,
SPIN,
28 June 2022
Adjective
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Back in 2021, the Housewives Institute came up with the 100 most unhinged, unexplainable, and unforgettable moments in the 15 years that the franchise had been on the air up to that point.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
19 July 2024
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After a massive bitcoin facility started operating in the town of Granbury, people of all ages began to experience a range of unexplainable medical issues, including hypertension, chest pain, heart palpitations, migraines, vertigo, tinnitus, hearing loss, and panic attacks.—
Longreads,
Longreads,
18 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Incommunicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incommunicable. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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