as in ineffable
beyond the power to describe
the vastness of the universe is incommunicable
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Recent Examples of incommunicable
Piranesi is a mystery, a mystery of the mind, a way for Clarke to communicate the incommunicable.
—
Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
And nothing is more isolating, more incommunicable, than the grief of a parent who has been unable to save their child’s life.
—Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022
In a way, Tiffany’s rendering of fandom as specific and incommunicable risks undermining her premise, which has to do with the massed power of people online.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 June 2022
Abstract artists, including Alberto Burri, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Jack Whitten and Mark Bradford, all found unique ways to use such materials to conjure the weight of incommunicable things.
—Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2021
After more than a decade away, the author is back with Piranesi, a way to communicate the incommunicable.
—Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
But the works test, in the depths of the incommunicable, the degree of anyone’s courage to envisage the bad in life, the worse, and the almost inconceivably abysmal.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2020
In one panel, Mary, at the foot of the cross, makes a recognizable gesture — suggesting grief or astonishment so great, so fundamentally incommunicable, that one covers one’s mouth — similar to that made by Matisse’s central bather.
—Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2020
What surprised me was the poetic potential of scurvy, with its awfulness and that terrible sense of isolation, when the possibility of ecstatic delights was inconceivable and incommunicable.
—National Geographic, 15 Jan. 2017
Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
And nothing is more isolating, more incommunicable, than the grief of a parent who has been unable to save their child’s life.
—Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022
In a way, Tiffany’s rendering of fandom as specific and incommunicable risks undermining her premise, which has to do with the massed power of people online.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 June 2022
Abstract artists, including Alberto Burri, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Jack Whitten and Mark Bradford, all found unique ways to use such materials to conjure the weight of incommunicable things.
—Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2021
After more than a decade away, the author is back with Piranesi, a way to communicate the incommunicable.
—Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
But the works test, in the depths of the incommunicable, the degree of anyone’s courage to envisage the bad in life, the worse, and the almost inconceivably abysmal.
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2020
In one panel, Mary, at the foot of the cross, makes a recognizable gesture — suggesting grief or astonishment so great, so fundamentally incommunicable, that one covers one’s mouth — similar to that made by Matisse’s central bather.
—Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2020
What surprised me was the poetic potential of scurvy, with its awfulness and that terrible sense of isolation, when the possibility of ecstatic delights was inconceivable and incommunicable.
—National Geographic, 15 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incommunicable
Adjective
-
Home for the Holidays (1995) Holly Hunter’s ineffable charm makes this Thanksgiving-centric movie a perfect rewatch for any time of year, not just on the third Thursday in November.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
6 Apr. 2025
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And in later scenes, as Jesse finally confronts Spencer's death, her ineffable pain is etched across Menzel's achingly expressive face.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA TODAY,
14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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That’s not too surprising, as collections packed with greatest hits tend to have incredible staying power, especially in the streaming age.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Throwing data into a box and shaking it has yielded incredible results in processing human language, but that won’t be enough to treat disease.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Historians are struggling to recover their inexpressible secrets.—
Erin Maglaque,
The New York Review of Books,
15 Nov. 2024
-
Historians are struggling to recover their inexpressible secrets.—
Erin Maglaque,
The New York Review of Books,
15 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Typically, Soto will show up alone, with loads of fresh flowers and laminated pictures of victims, when something indescribable happens — strangers off the street offer to help set up the display, each taking a moment to contribute to this memorial.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
6 Feb. 2025
-
This sends Charlie down a rabbit hole of indescribable grief.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Rose Ayling-Ellis, an English television presenter and writer of children’s books whose previous acting credits include EastEnders and Casualty, plays that lone survivor of an unspeakable incident, named Aliss.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
23 Apr. 2025
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Published in 1946 and translated into 50 languages with more than 16 million copies sold, Frankl’s account follows his time in the Nazi concentration camps and his exploration of the human will to find meaning in spite of unspeakable adversity.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Her work often explores indefinable experiences and emotions, intimacy, connection, and the body’s relationship to nature.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 2025
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An indefinable musical by a French auteur is headed for millions of streaming subscribers.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Two high voices — LACO features soprano Amanda Forsythe and countertenor John Holiday — intertwine with the orchestra turning this hymn to the Virgin Mary’s suffering into unutterable sweetness and treating death as life’s engenderment.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2024
-
In between loads of cartoonish ultraviolence and B-movie horror ephemera came some honestly unutterable lyrics, which Bill fought his faith to perform.—
Jonathan Rowe,
SPIN,
28 June 2022
Adjective
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The story follows the three Maxwell siblings who grew up as the only Black family in a gated Dallas neighborhood, also tormented by strange and unexplainable demonic happenings in their house.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA TODAY,
21 Mar. 2025
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Back in 2021, the Housewives Institute came up with the 100 most unhinged, unexplainable, and unforgettable moments in the 15 years that the franchise had been on the air up to that point.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
19 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Incommunicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incommunicable. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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