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

Clearly, something ineffable has been lost in the shopping experience—and not only for me—judging from the revival and broadened scope of in-store dining. — Alex Witchel, Town & Country, "The Best Department Stores Are All Opening Restaurants," 25 Feb. 2019 But if a building has the ineffable rightness of form of a great piece of sculpture, an addition is normally fatal. ... — Michael J. Lewis, WSJ, "An Expansion of Subtle Sensibility," 5 Feb. 2019 By stirring us so powerfully, birds bring us up against the ineffable in a telling, pathos-laden way. — Ben Downing, WSJ, "‘As Kingfishers Catch Fire’ Review: Flights of Fancy," 16 Nov. 2018 That ineffable quality that drew him to her in the first place? — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Sophie Turner Reacts Adorably to Joe Jonas Secretly Instagramming Her," 25 Nov. 2018 What is known is that the ineffable magic that Ralph Lauren has created, and its presence in our collective consciousness, make his successes over the past five decades the ultimate achievement of American brand-making for, like, well, ever. — Harper's BAZAAR, "American Dream: Ralph Lauren Celebrates 50 Years," 6 Sep. 2018 The sloth, about the size of a large sheepdog, hung upside down and stared at me with an expression of ineffable sadness on its furry face. — New York Times, "Don’t Try to Catch a Komodo Dragon — Unless You’re David Attenborough," 29 May 2018 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

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.