1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

incomprehensible

adjective

(ˌ)in-ˌkäm-pri-ˈhen(t)-sə-bəl How to pronounce incomprehensible (audio)
Definition of incomprehensiblenext
as in unintelligible
impossible to understand rocket science is incomprehensible to most people

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of incomprehensible Of all the awful plays the Carolina defense made Sunday in a 59-37 loss to the Chicago Bears, two of the most incomprehensible came from one of their best and smartest players. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 13 Sep. 2026 The first two interceptions weren’t great, but the third one was truly incomprehensible. — Chad Graff, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026 Here, relatives try to comprehend the incomprehensible — how around 120 of their children could be snuffed out, just after they’d been dropped off for a day of classes. — Amir Vahdat, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 The second-chance Hail Mary led to the incomprehensible scene of the Michigan Stadium crowd storming the field to cheer the winningest program in Bowl Subdivision history eking out a victory over a Mid-American Conference school. — CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for incomprehensible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incomprehensible
  1. unintelligible
  2. mysterious
  3. unfathomable
  4. confusing
  5. uncanny
  6. esoteric
  7. impenetrable
  8. obscure
Adjective
  • Then Mikayla makes an almost unintelligible crack about Doug, which sends Taylor back into a rage spiral.
    — Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Assuming viewers understood the history of English soccer — or even the offside rule — could make the broadcasts unintelligible for new fans who understood neither.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of unintelligible
Adjective
  • Afterward, guests made their way up to Shishi, tucked away on the third floor with a mysterious entrance.
    — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026
  • There’s a guy who wound up dying under mysterious circumstances that makes up part of him.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of mysterious
Adjective
  • Hasan deftly handles political seriousness and an unfathomable history and present of war and punitive state violence against Palestinians.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Dolphins fandom has been a miserable existence for more than a quarter century now, and for reasons that extend well beyond the unfathomable 25-year playoff victory drought in a league that prioritizes parity.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of unfathomable
Adjective
  • Here, those extra voices vastly outnumber the two main characters, leading to a profusion of confusing subplots that stray away from the main themes.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Vaccines increasingly feel like a high-stakes decision – but with increasingly confusing and contradictory public health information.
    — Jennifer Reich, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of confusing
Adjective
  • Their resemblance is uncanny; near carbon copies, some thirty years apart.
    — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Images often associated with barbarism on screen, like beheading the dead to memorialize them, are approached with an uncanny gentleness.
    — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of uncanny
Adjective
  • Their job is to reduce the world to a series of numbers that can be punched into increasingly complex statistical equations and published in esoteric journals with high barriers to entry and minuscule readerships.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Another challenge is that though the Langlands program is sweeping and unifying, the mathematical correspondences themselves are excruciatingly specific and esoteric.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of esoteric
Adjective
  • Director Padraic McKinley’s debut feature stars Ethan Hawke as a battle-scarred veteran hired to smuggle a fortune in gold across 100 miles of impenetrable wilderness.
    — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026
  • For most of our history as a country, and certainly in the post-World War II nuclear era, our borders felt impenetrable.
    — Michael Silver, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of impenetrable
Adjective
  • This includes sourcing suppliers for obscure or discontinued parts.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The Venezuelan government granted an obscure private oil company, North American Blue Energy Partners, concessions to develop those reserves.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of obscure

Browse Nearby Words

incomprehensibility
incomprehensible
incomprehensibleness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Incomprehensible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incomprehensible. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compendious

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All