inscrutable
adjective
in·scru·ta·ble
in-ˈskrü-tə-bəl 
: not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood : mysterious
an inscrutable smile
inscrutable motives
Did you know?
Scrutinizing the inscrutable may be futile: even close scrutiny can fail to decipher it. Scrutinizing the scrutable, on the other hand, is likely to yield some understanding. All of these scrut- words have the same Latin root: scrutari, meaning “to search or examine.” While scrutiny, scrutinize, and inscrutable all prove themselves useful in everyday discourse, English speakers don’t tend to call much on scrutable, which functions as a synonym of comprehensible.
Synonyms of inscrutable
Examples of inscrutable in a Sentence
Supersymmetry is a magic mirror, and everything in what we imagine to be the real world has its ghostly, inscrutable mirror image.
—
Ian Stewart, Prospect, September 2003
Of all the myths that have grown up around Alan Greenspan, the most powerful is the idea that he's willfully inscrutable.
—James Surowiecki, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2001
That wily politicians might adopt Franklin's distinction between appearance and reality to become inscrutable confidence men did not seem to trouble him.
—John H. Summers, Journal of American History, December 2000
an inscrutable work of art
He was a quiet, inscrutable man.
Ian Stewart, Prospect, September 2003
Of all the myths that have grown up around Alan Greenspan, the most powerful is the idea that he's willfully inscrutable.
—James Surowiecki, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2001
That wily politicians might adopt Franklin's distinction between appearance and reality to become inscrutable confidence men did not seem to trouble him.
—John H. Summers, Journal of American History, December 2000
an inscrutable work of art
He was a quiet, inscrutable man.
Recent Examples on the Web
Cameron Winter’s lyrics have an air of inscrutable mysticism, but there is little doubt he’s supposed to be the one singing them.
—Armin Rosen, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
What hurts most is that there’s no single performance here as challenging and complex as what Florence Pugh was doing in Lady Macbeth or what Thomasin McKenzie delivered in Eileen — performances that demand focus and interpretation, conjuring the inscrutable within the familiar.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Jan. 2026
Still others are dumping otherwise inscrutable medical records downloaded from patient portals into the generative AI bot, hoping to glean new insights.
—Mario Aguilar, STAT, 8 Jan. 2026
But all actions have consequences—even arbitrary and inscrutable ones.
—Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
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Armin Rosen, The Washington Examiner, 9 Jan. 2026
What hurts most is that there’s no single performance here as challenging and complex as what Florence Pugh was doing in Lady Macbeth or what Thomasin McKenzie delivered in Eileen — performances that demand focus and interpretation, conjuring the inscrutable within the familiar.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Jan. 2026
Still others are dumping otherwise inscrutable medical records downloaded from patient portals into the generative AI bot, hoping to glean new insights.
—Mario Aguilar, STAT, 8 Jan. 2026
But all actions have consequences—even arbitrary and inscrutable ones.
—Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Cite this Entry
“Inscrutable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inscrutable. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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inscrutable
adjective
in·scru·ta·ble
in-ˈskrüt-ə-bəl
: not easily understood : mysterious
an inscrutable expression
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