as in mysteriousness
the quality or state of being impossible to know, understand, or explain
the impenetrability of her prose is apparently the basis of her appeal to literary snobs
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Recent Examples of impenetrability
Kim Gordon, The Collective A 71-year-old noise-rocker reciting spoken word over drum machines might scan as avant-garde impenetrability.
—
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
Scott blends Damon’s close-to-the-bone fragility and Alain Delon’s simmering impenetrability in making this uncertain Tom Ripley his own.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024
But for real impenetrability from rain or snow, Gore-Tex or a membrane coated with durable water repellent (DWR) serve as the ultimate barrier.
—Michael Stefanov, Robb Report, 17 Jan. 2024
Multiple civilizations of Indigenous people have called the canyon home thanks to its abundance of water, fertile soils, and fortress-like impenetrability from intruders.
—Dr. Len Necefer, Outside Online, 13 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for impenetrability
Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
Scott blends Damon’s close-to-the-bone fragility and Alain Delon’s simmering impenetrability in making this uncertain Tom Ripley his own.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Apr. 2024
But for real impenetrability from rain or snow, Gore-Tex or a membrane coated with durable water repellent (DWR) serve as the ultimate barrier.
—Michael Stefanov, Robb Report, 17 Jan. 2024
Multiple civilizations of Indigenous people have called the canyon home thanks to its abundance of water, fertile soils, and fortress-like impenetrability from intruders.
—Dr. Len Necefer, Outside Online, 13 Dec. 2022
See All Example Sentences for impenetrability
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impenetrability
ambiguity
Noun
-
Young people lack experience with the awkward pauses of conversation, the ambiguity of social cues, and the grit required to make up with a hurt or angry friend.—
Russell Shaw,
The Atlantic,
11 July 2025
-
Poker Face has played fast and loose with how Charlie’s gift actually works, an intentional ambiguity that only gets more complicated with the reveal that actually, yeah, Charlie can be lied to.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impenetrability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impenetrability. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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