as in incredible
beyond the power to describe
an ineffable beauty descends upon the canyon as the sun begins to set
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 ineffable
As the stories of the Quechua people float layered over the visuals, the film draws something ineffable and sublime from the landscape in a way that would be out of scope for straight reportage.
—
Mustafah Abdulaziz, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2025
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
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
There’s an ineffable beauty in the shot of a pecan being deshelled, the meat suddenly revealed.
—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ineffable
Mustafah Abdulaziz, New York Times, 26 Apr. 2025
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
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
There’s an ineffable beauty in the shot of a pecan being deshelled, the meat suddenly revealed.
—Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 25 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ineffable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ineffable
Adjective
-
It’s been an incredible year for gaming in just the first six months, with the release of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (93), Blue Prince (92), Split Fiction (91) and Death Stranding 2 (89).—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
-
Every day on set is a gift thanks to the dedication, talent, and friendship of our incredible cast and crew.—
Mekishana Pierre Published,
EW.com,
15 July 2025
Adjective
-
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
-
Winning back-to-back championships is indescribable, Bennett said as his team celebrated on the ice around him Tuesday night.—
Pierre LeBrun,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
Adjective
-
As Ernest Burkhart, a simple-minded man manipulated to do unspeakable things, DiCaprio presents his character's moral conflict with complexity.—
Derek Lawrence,
EW.com,
13 July 2025
-
The point, of course, isn’t that America’s film industry should be doing more to profit off the back of an unspeakable humanitarian catastrophe.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
25 June 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
-
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
-
Her work often explores indefinable experiences and emotions, intimacy, connection, and the body’s relationship to nature.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 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
-
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,
Washington Post,
31 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Ineffable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ineffable. Accessed 24 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share