ineffable

adjective

(ˌ)i-ˈne-fə-bəl How to pronounce ineffable (audio)
Definition of ineffablenext
as in incredible
beyond the power to describe an ineffable beauty descends upon the canyon as the sun begins to set

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 Her suitors, drawn by her ineffable popularity, range from bohemian artists to Italian diplomats. — Air Mail, 20 June 2026 With the games having kicked off, the sport has shown its ineffable power to supplant crass and capitalistic overreach. — Emily Olsen, New York Times, 16 June 2026 Courtesy of the City of Orlando Overall, the leafy memorial’s open-space concept uplifts and seems to point skyward toward the ineffable. — R. Daniel Foster, Forbes.com, 12 June 2026 Researchers tend to define consciousness loosely as the ability to experience—the subjective, ineffable feeling of being alive. — Emma Gometz, Scientific American, 15 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for ineffable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ineffable
  1. incredible
  2. indescribable
  3. unspeakable
  4. inexpressible
  5. indefinable
  6. unutterable
  7. incommunicable
Adjective
  • That while Richard Gadd was incredible in it, not recognizing Jamie Bell was pretty shocking to me.
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 11 July 2026
  • States, including Arkansas, are about to take on a large part of the incredible financial responsibility for administering SNAP, along with a significant portion of the program's benefit costs.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 July 2026
Definition of incredible
Adjective
  • The results have often left me highly frustrated, but also have given me indescribable joy at the fact of having absorbed (although only partially, of course) some of the elusive beauty of those marvelous, magical, mysteriously alluring tongues.
    — Douglas Hofstadter, Time, 30 June 2026
  • There has been an indescribable joy sweeping New York City as of late, thanks to an unprecedented week of athletic endeavors.
    — Alexandra Hildreth, Vogue, 18 June 2026
Definition of indescribable
Adjective
  • On-screen, stars depict unspeakable acts of violence and cruelty.
    — Michael O’Donnell, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
  • When once-unspeakable truths break through and are finally said aloud, that is a win.
    — Marcus Anthony Hunter, Time, 19 June 2026
Definition of unspeakable
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
Definition of inexpressible
Adjective
  • Our movie tastes are determined by some indefinable electrical current of enthusiasm or joy or deep, radiating sadness, or some combination of the three.
    — Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Of course, beauty is subject to taste and culture and all sorts of indefinable things.
    — Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of indefinable
Adjective
  • An idle scroll through any social media feed will reveal violent language against Jewish people that was considered widely unutterable a few years ago.
    — Alexander Smith, NBC news, 1 May 2026
  • Stripped of orchestral arrangement, the emotion in Ross’s voice provokes that unutterable connection that makes singer and listener one in a desire to act in the present for the present.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Dec. 2025
Definition of unutterable
Adjective
  • But because some crucial part of artistic expression is always slipping toward the incommunicable, the most powerful art is sometimes less a dialogue than a soliloquy.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 May 2026
  • Margaret would whisper in the dark and laugh quietly, entertained by her own incommunicable thoughts.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Apr. 2026
Definition of incommunicable

Browse Nearby Words

inedible
ineffable
ineffaceable
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Cite this Entry

“Ineffable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ineffable. Accessed 13 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on ineffable

Nglish: Translation of ineffable for Spanish Speakers

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