1
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
the many inscrutable beliefs of that ancient religion
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
ancient oracles typically uttered inscrutable prophecies that could be interpreted almost any way one chose
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Recent Examples of inscrutable
Data fed into these systems passes through layers of hidden nodes, performing thousands of computations that are largely inscrutable.
—
Anise Madh, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
The black hole at the center of our galaxy is hardly more inscrutable than the mysterious process by which Gov. Ron DeSantis decides which condemned prisoner will be put to death next.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 23 June 2025
Chess is not the only domain where eschewing conventional rules and formal logic in favor of highly sophisticated and inscrutable systems has generated progress.
—Bruce Schneier, The Conversation, 16 June 2025
The final silent looks between Kate and Claire are fairly inscrutable, and Moore notes that she and Sweeney were instructed to give a wide range of options in their acting choices.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Anise Madh, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025
The black hole at the center of our galaxy is hardly more inscrutable than the mysterious process by which Gov. Ron DeSantis decides which condemned prisoner will be put to death next.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 23 June 2025
Chess is not the only domain where eschewing conventional rules and formal logic in favor of highly sophisticated and inscrutable systems has generated progress.
—Bruce Schneier, The Conversation, 16 June 2025
The final silent looks between Kate and Claire are fairly inscrutable, and Moore notes that she and Sweeney were instructed to give a wide range of options in their acting choices.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inscrutable
Adjective
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Struggling to keep up with his fast-rising debts, he is offered a lifeline by the mysterious Dao Ming (Fala Chen), a casino employee with secrets of her own.—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
19 Aug. 2025
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That would be the mysterious Dao Ming (Shang-Chi‘s Fala Chen), a casino employee with secrets of her own.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Whether the death was self-inflicted or by accident is ambiguous.—
Bryan West,
The Tennessean,
15 Aug. 2025
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The Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision eliminated Chevron deference, sharply curtailing agencies’ ability to interpret ambiguous laws.—
AJ Dhaliwal,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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However, it was discovered earlier this week that a recent, almost silent, filing with the SEC suggests their next frontier is something far more cryptic.—
Emma Kershaw,
Forbes.com,
21 Aug. 2025
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The library’s encyclopedias, clear and sedative beside the Bible’s cryptic thrills, still misled; Ruth lived for decades in an alternate reality containing Zanzibar and dipsomania.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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His classical, sometimes obscure tastes contrasted with Pomeranz’s appreciation for Hollywood blockbusters, making their debates supremely entertaining as well as enlightening.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
14 Aug. 2025
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Some — like the emblem of the 101st Airborne and the 1st Cavalry — are easily recognizable but others are more obscure.—
Sal Pizarro,
Mercury News,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Weapons is a movie about a local misfortune that then reveals the enigmatic villain behind it and delights in her comeuppance.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
15 Aug. 2025
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Perseverance's adventures have revealed some insights about the enigmatic Martian geology.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Grounded in a strong sense of place, powerful performances speak volumes without excess dialogue in an atmosphere both familiar and uncanny.—
Diana Lodderhose,
Deadline,
23 Aug. 2025
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And yet this life style seemed demarcated by objects that were ugly, strange, and uncanny.—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Sydney Sweeney’s new dark crime comedy Americana is new in theaters this weekend.—
Tim Lammers,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Flames and dark smoke billowed over a cement factory that was set alight by a wildfire that swept through olive groves and forests and disrupted rail traffic on the outskirts of the Greek city of Patras, west of Athens.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The old woman put her feet together and leaned forward at an angle and placed her forehead squarely on the Kraków Chakra, where the mystic energy of the world was thought to be both most intense and most accessible to human beings.—
Zadie Smith,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
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Freddy strays a little too close to the stereotype of a mystic savant; Michelle makes some rash and drastic decisions that beggar belief.—
Alison Herman,
Variety,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inscrutable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inscrutable. Accessed 29 Aug. 2025.
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