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

But there are hosts who issue unreasonable and even incomprehensible instructions. —Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023

Women are accomplices, not equals: incomprehensible witches, strange in their sisterliness (the men are Cains and Abels) and artists only accidentally. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 29 Oct. 2023

While documenting the rise, fall and eventual reunion of the Libertines (as well as Doherty’s other band Babyshambles), the doc presents a staggeringly intimate look inside the mind of a punk-rock poet of sorts — always spewing something profound if slightly incomprehensible. —Ellise Shafer, Variety, 6 Oct. 2023

The skin-care techniques, the makeup tricks, the completely incomprehensible bathroom layouts. —Marci Robin, Allure, 12 Sep. 2023

Now, lying by a makeshift tent outside what was once his home, Mr. Ahmad, 40, was torn between the incomprehensible pain of losing his family and the tiny spark of hope that somewhere, somehow, his son might still be alive. —Yaqoob Akbary, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2023

Those who cannot escape what happened, who must sit with their incomprehensible trauma for decades after, enduring their own life sentences. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 15 Oct. 2023

Learn the Legends of the Northern Lights There are countless legends about the northern lights – mankind’s attempt to explain a seemingly incomprehensible phenomenon. —Debbie Olsen, Travel + Leisure, 18 Sep. 2023

The series applies this worldview to the case of a seemingly incomprehensible kidnapping. —Time, 28 July 2023

See More

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