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
For certain travelers, though, especially those who gravitate toward conflict zones and geopolitical oddities, Turkmenistan’s impenetrability has given it an alluring mystique.
—
Joe Yogerst, CNN Money, 31 July 2025
Played with gruff impenetrability and a thinly veiled sadistic streak by David Shih, this big dog’s name is Mitsuo, but no one uses names in the heya — only ranks.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Mar. 2025
Curiously, this rediscovered impenetrability has come with Nick Pope, the undisputed No 1 goalkeeper, injured.
—Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for impenetrability
Joe Yogerst, CNN Money, 31 July 2025
Played with gruff impenetrability and a thinly veiled sadistic streak by David Shih, this big dog’s name is Mitsuo, but no one uses names in the heya — only ranks.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Mar. 2025
Curiously, this rediscovered impenetrability has come with Nick Pope, the undisputed No 1 goalkeeper, injured.
—Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for impenetrability
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impenetrability
Noun
-
That intrigue and mysteriousness still rest in the canyon walls today.—
Madison Dapcevich,
Outside,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Stage directors and performers have attempted to excavate and animate that ambiguity, first dreamed up by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in Hedda Gabler, for over a century.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
-
His ambiguity has stirred controversy, given constitutional restrictions in the 22nd and 12th amendments on such a move.—
Emily Hallas,
The Washington Examiner,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impenetrability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impenetrability. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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