unprovable

adjective

un·​prov·​able ˌən-ˈprü-və-bəl How to pronounce unprovable (audio)
: unable to be proved : not provable
an unprovable theory
unprovably adverb

Examples of unprovable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Others believed sometimes unprovable family lore about Native roots. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2024 The few who inquire deeply know the case against CO2 is plausible but unprovable, and that difficult trade-offs amid uncertainty mock the simple-minded chants of various extremists. Holman W. Jenkins, Jr., WSJ, 19 Dec. 2023 But such beauty harbors unanswerable questions—ones that are, as mathematician Robert Berger stated in 1966, provably unprovable. Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 10 Apr. 2023 The idea feels unprovable and undeniable. Chris Richards, Washington Post, 16 June 2022 Future cost projections are unprovable guesses. Loren Thompson, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2021 But that could also have been said for the politicized filing of unprovable homicide charges. Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review, 24 Sep. 2020 This kind of enormous, unprovable claim has become a genre convention in popular intellectual history, but what Magnificent Rebels actually offers is more modest. Adam Kirsch, The New Republic, 21 Oct. 2022 Because if a group of people were to gather there for that purpose, then that would be totally fine and not completely unprovable. Dan Hyman, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unprovable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unprovable was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near unprovable

Cite this Entry

“Unprovable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unprovable. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

unprovable

adjective
un·​prov·​able
ˌən-ˈprü-və-bəl
: not provable

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