Definition of INEFFABLE

Other Words from ineffable

ineffability \ (ˌ)i-ˌne-fə-ˈbi-lə-tē

\ noun

ineffableness \ (ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-bəl-nəs

\ noun

ineffably \ (ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-blē

\ adverb

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 easy to see that ineffable means "indescribable" or "unspeakable." And when we break down the word to its Latin roots, it's easy to see how those meanings came about. "Ineffable" comes from "ineffabilis," which joins the prefix in-, meaning "not," with the adjective effabilis, meaning "capable of being expressed." "Effabilis" comes from "effari" ("to speak out"), which in turn comes from ex- and fari ("to speak").

Examples of ineffable in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

And while there is much to admire about the video (the Carter's ineffable cool, the cinematic cinematography, of course, the song itself), perhaps most poignant is the symbolism. — Elise Taylor, Vogue, "You Can Now Visit All the Paintings of “Apeshit” in a Beyoncé and Jay-Z Inspired Tour of the Louvre Museum," 6 July 2018 What are those ineffable x-factors that go into creating a desire so overwhelming that notseeing a movie is tantamount to not living one's best life? — Ann Hornaday, chicagotribune.com, "What defines a 'must-see' movie? And does 'Infinity War' make the cut?," 13 May 2018 Still, there's a certain ineffable quality to the way McCaw defends and hustles that lifts a team, a frenetic energy that can help turn the tide or sustain a run. — Rob Mahoney, SI.com, "The Best Players Left in NBA Free Agency," 9 July 2018 But as these two actresses, Ms. Markey and Emily Davis, go on to portray a succession of distinct individuals, the will to be one with the other keeps pulling at them, like some ineffable but unavoidable force of gravity. — Ben Brantley, New York Times, "Review: In the Relationships in ‘Singlet,’ One and One Make One," 20 May 2018 There's also an ineffable quality to the risk in all this. — Andrew Sharp, SI.com, "The Risks and Rewards of LeBron James on the Lakers," 2 July 2018 If so, the variations have been endless, the themes ineffable. — Mark Rozzo, Vanities, "Ed Ruscha Still Has Plenty More to Say About America," 30 May 2018 Some perceive this as undermining those ineffable elements that make wine different from, say, toothpaste. — Bruce Schoenfeld, WIRED, "Your Next Glass of Wine Might Be a Fake—and You'll Love It," 30 May 2018 To illustrate Dundy’s story, Wolfe was photographed by Irving Penn, who captured the writer’s ineffable style with his lepidopterist’s eye. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, "Tom Wolfe: Remembering the Iconic Style of “The Man in the White Suit”," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ineffable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.