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
-
Its blend of casual weirdness and ineffable showmanship — watch Carson slyly turn discomfort into comedy — distills the essence of late night better than any marquee guest or recurring segment.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Aug. 2025
-
In fact, there’s something ineffable about the whole thing, something that can’t be explained with a formula.—
Ann Abel,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Adjective
-
Secretariat won the Belmont by an incredible 31 lengths, and his record time of 2:24 still stands as the fastest of all time.—
Sarah Jean Maher,
New York Times,
23 Aug. 2025
-
Both owners reported incredible business for their openings.—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Much like the famed British poets of World War I, who sought to express the inexpressible, Abu Toha strives to capture the unspeakable carnage, futility, and despair of war.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Writing gives mothers the space and the time to express the inexpressible, even when the space and time do so are stolen away.—
Alice Vincent,
Vogue,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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It’s been such a privilege to compete here, and to be in the final is just indescribable.—
Ryan Canfield,
FOXNews.com,
10 July 2025
-
Winant crystallizes this idea of crossing a indescribable threshold through her discussion and analysis of masochism, an intrinsic component of athletic practice that intertwines physical pleasure with pain.—
Jessica Simmons-Reid,
Artforum,
1 June 2025
Adjective
-
Much like the famed British poets of World War I, who sought to express the inexpressible, Abu Toha strives to capture the unspeakable carnage, futility, and despair of war.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
19 Aug. 2025
-
Most Call of Cthulhu campaigns are set during the 1920s or in the modern day, This one pits the players against the unspeakable Hastur in Japan during the 1980s.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
For all Sacks’ efforts to remain an indefinable cult figure outside the mainstream, he has lately been caught in Hollywood’s tractor beam, with several film scripts in advanced stages of development.—
Julian Sancton,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Aug. 2025
-
This East Coast city earns high marks year after year for its various dining options, museums, and the indefinable, electric energy of the city that never sleeps.—
Elizabeth Cantrell,
Travel + Leisure,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
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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Markle pops up in the first two episodes of Fringe's second season as junior FBI agent Amy Jessup, who briefly joins the Fringe Division while investigating an unexplainable NYC crash.—
James Mercadante,
EW.com,
4 Aug. 2025
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The reason the earth is rotating faster on these three days in 2025 is unexplainable, leading authority on Earth rotation Leonid Zotov told Time and Date.—
Ella Gonzales,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incommunicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incommunicable. Accessed 27 Aug. 2025.
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