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
-
Leading in ongoing ambiguity demands emotional endurance, narrative agility and the strength to stay grounded while evolving at speed.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2025
-
Director Flanagan handles the escalating insanity with suggestive ambiguity, nothing too bombastic for as long as the story allows.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impenetrability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impenetrability. Accessed 16 Jun. 2025.
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