ineffable

adjective

in·​ef·​fa·​ble (ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-bəl 

1

a

: incapable of being expressed in words : indescribable

ineffable joy/beauty

b

: unspeakable

ineffable disgust

2

: not to be uttered : taboo

the ineffable name of Jehovah

ineffability

(ˌ)i-ˌne-fə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

ineffableness

(ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-bəl-nəs 

noun

ineffably

(ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-blē 

adverb

Did you know?

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 clear that ineffable means "indescribable" or "unspeakable." And when we break the word down to its Latin roots, we see how those meanings came about. Ineffable comes from ineffābilis, which joins the prefix in-, meaning "not," with the adjective effābilis, meaning "capable of being expressed." Effābilis comes from effārī, "to speak out," which in turn comes from ex- and fārī, meaning “to speak.”

Synonyms of ineffable

• incredible
• indescribable
• unspeakable
• inexpressible
• indefinable
• unutterable
• incommunicable

Examples of ineffable in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Loving your work is great, but career obsession can be its own form of sterility; corporations aren’t people, and most employers would sooner lay you off than understand your ineffable you-ness. — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026

Inspired by ineffable nature Dillard’s virtuosic, visionary style isn’t for everyone. — Amy Cannon, The Conversation, 18 Sep. 2026

Gus Birney, Shulman’s real-life daughter, brings an ineffable lightness to Sarah Nell, the joyfulness and sweetness of the portrayal all the more wondrous before of all the darkness that surrounds it. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026

The idea that the gooey mass inside the skull contains some ineffable, nonprogrammable essence—consciousness, spirit, or something else—may be intuitively appealing. — Foreign Affairs, 10 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin ineffabilis, from in- + effabilis capable of being expressed, from effari to speak out, from ex- + fari to speak — more at ban entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

ineffable

adjective

in·​ef·​fa·​ble (ˈ)in-ˈef-ə-bəl 

: impossible to express : inexpressible

ineffable joy

ineffability

(ˌ)in-ˌef-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

ineffably

(ˈ)in-ˈef-ə-blē 

adverb