unthinkable

adjective

un·think·able | \ ˌən-ˈthiŋ-kə-bəl

Definition of unthinkable

1 : not capable of being grasped by the mind

2 : being contrary to what is reasonable, desirable, or probable : being out of the question

Other Words from unthinkable Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about unthinkable

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Other Words from unthinkable

unthinkability \ ˌən-ˌthiŋ-kə-ˈbi-lə-tē

\ noun

unthinkably \ ˌən-ˈthiŋ-kə-blē

\ adverb

Examples of unthinkable in a Sentence

to most people it seemed unthinkable that such a gentle man could be guilty of such awful crimes

Recent Examples on the Web

But then, the unthinkable happens: Sevvy becomes the suspect in another murder. — Heather Finn, Good Housekeeping, "Is 'The Fix' Based on a True Story? Here's the Truth Behind Marcia Clark's New Show," 18 Mar. 2019 The Duchess of Cambridge is a huge fan of doing the unthinkable by, *gasp*, wearing the same outfit more than once. — Lucy Wood, Marie Claire, "Meghan Markle Just Rewore the Antonio Beradi Dress From Her First Ever Public Event With Prince Harry," 30 Oct. 2018 The scale of this problem is unthinkable—there are at this moment 700 million women alive who were married as children. — Darren Walker, Town & Country, "Princess Mabel of the Netherlands Has Devoted Herself to Ending the Scourge of Child Marriage," 17 Jan. 2017 Such a movie would have been unthinkable in the years after Sept. 11. — Jake Coyle, Detroit Free Press, "Review: ‘Skyscraper’ delivers stunts, dumb summer fun," 12 July 2018 But even such a step remains unthinkable in a political world in which Paul Ryan acts exactly like a man who views the president of the United States as his boss. — Jonathan Chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Paul Ryan Unaware Constitution Lets Congress Override Presidential Veto," 12 July 2018 Accomplishes feats routinely that are unthinkable for most players. — Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, "NBA MVP: Does James Harden or LeBron James have the better case?," 10 Apr. 2018 The crowd, which included families from as far away as Argentina and Ukraine, would have once been unthinkable for Vowell and his congregation. — Robert Downen, Houston Chronicle, "‘Hope’ becomes theme during Seder," 31 Mar. 2018 The strategy makes everyone involved—especially America’s enemies—squarely confront the unthinkable, making a nuclear war too terrible to contemplate, let alone start. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Does America Still Need the Nuclear Triad?," 23 Jan. 2019

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

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5 Jun 2019

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Time Traveler for unthinkable

The first known use of unthinkable was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for unthinkable

unthinkable

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of unthinkable

: impossible to imagine or believe : too bad or shocking to be thought of

See the full definition for unthinkable in the English Language Learners Dictionary

unthinkable

adjective

un·think·able | \ ˌən-ˈthiŋ-kə-bəl

Kids Definition of unthinkable

: not to be thought of or considered as possible or reasonable “Impossible!” cried Mr. Wonka. “Unthinkable! … He could never be made into marshmallows!”— Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory