unspeakable

adjective

un·speak·able | \ˌən-ˈspē-kə-bəl

Definition of unspeakable

1a : incapable of being expressed in words : unutterable

b : inexpressibly bad : horrendous unspeakable living conditions unspeakable evil

2 : that may not or cannot be spoken the bawdy thoughts that come into one's head — the unspeakable words— L. P. Smith unspeakable collections of consonants— Rosemary Jellis

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Examples of unspeakable in a Sentence

the unspeakable horror of war continually encountered unspeakable beauty in their travels through the Alps

Recent Examples on the Web

Each and every one of them led to unspeakable suffering for children, families and entire communities. — Washington Post, "UN: 1 in 4 children live in country of conflict or disaster," 11 July 2018 Our unspeakable treatment of migrant children and flippant disregard for their safety should invoke moral outrage. — Jenn M. Jackson, Teen Vogue, "Separating Children From Parents is Shocking And Inhumane — It Is Also An American Tradition," 22 June 2018 Detective Ralph Anderson is ready to send Maitland to death row for his unspeakable crimes. — Karin Slaughter, Philly.com, "Stephen King's 'The Outsider': A thrill ride from an American classic writer," 1 June 2018 Detective Ralph Anderson is ready to send Maitland to death row for his unspeakable crimes. — Karin Slaughter, chicagotribune.com, "What Stephen King gets right - and wrong - in 'The Outsider'," 23 May 2018 If combating that unspeakable evil — by securing a vote on legislation to reassert congressional authority over tariffs — required blocking the president’s judicial appointments, so be it. — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Jeff Flake Flakes, Says He Won’t Block Trump’s Supreme Court Pick," 28 June 2018 The assumption, dropped amid the cheerful stories of burgeoning careers and domestic scenes of stressful sweetness, that there is hidden unspeakable violence in the world, provides the pivot for the play. — Chloe Schama, Vogue, "Theater Can Be Dishearteningly Inaccessible. Carey Mulligan’s Devastating New Play Is Changing That.," 27 June 2018 In Syria and Iraq, the unspeakable acts of Islamic State were proportional to the speed of the terror group’s collapse. — Mark Sappenfield, The Christian Science Monitor, "Nigeria’s schoolgirl rebellion," 26 June 2018 The day after the unspeakable tragedy that was the Pulse Nightclub Shooting in Orlando. — Meghan Trainor, Billboard, "Meghan Trainor: Love Letter to the LGBTQ Community," 11 June 2018

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