1
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
the many inscrutable beliefs of that ancient religion
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
ancient oracles typically uttered inscrutable prophecies that could be interpreted almost any way one chose
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Recent Examples of inscrutable
The explanations from the front office are sometimes the most inscrutable part.
—
Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Convincingly portraying a woman who regains her dignity in her quest to follow in her father’s footsteps, Hart’s performance of inscrutable sacrifice balances a regal confidence with the uneasiness of someone in perpetual survival mode.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
True, this would turn programs into inscrutable black boxes, but they could still be divided into modular testable units for sanity and quality checks.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 23 Sep. 2025
And this one cast an even lower, closer shadow — rendering her expressions even more inscrutable — than any before it.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Levi Weaver, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
Convincingly portraying a woman who regains her dignity in her quest to follow in her father’s footsteps, Hart’s performance of inscrutable sacrifice balances a regal confidence with the uneasiness of someone in perpetual survival mode.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 2 Oct. 2025
True, this would turn programs into inscrutable black boxes, but they could still be divided into modular testable units for sanity and quality checks.
—Stephen Cass, IEEE Spectrum, 23 Sep. 2025
And this one cast an even lower, closer shadow — rendering her expressions even more inscrutable — than any before it.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inscrutable
Adjective
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Gehman, then a graduate student earning a doctorate in disease ecology, had heard about a mysterious illness sweeping through the Pacific coast’s iconic invertebrates.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Since its discovery in 2009, scientists have made little headway in understanding the mysterious origins of these excess gamma rays.—
Chris Young,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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One of the bigger headlines going into Saturday has been the ambiguous departure of Auburn captain and running back Damari Alston.—
Maddie Hartley,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
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How this will work in practice is also ambiguous, as well as who will keep the peace.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Strange statues and cryptic riddles in Italian or Latin appear around every corner, making each visit feel like a discovery that the whole family can enjoy.—
Fulvio De Bonis,
Travel + Leisure,
17 Oct. 2025
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Danity Kane has revealed dates for a collection of reunion performances with cryptic messaging.—
DeMicia Inman,
VIBE.com,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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And yet, as the 2008 financial crisis showed, trouble on Main Street can start in obscure corners of Wall Street.—
Elisabeth Buchwald,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
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Sasagawa searched YouTube for old and obscure emo bands, and came across a 2012 upload of Everyone Asked About You’s vinyl album.—
David Hill,
Rolling Stone,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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What’s more, Murnau and screenwriter Henrik Galeen transformed Stoker’s novel into an enigmatic fairy tale.—
Robert Eggers,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Oct. 2025
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And with a new and enigmatic Duke at the helm, Tintagel is also facing an uncertain future.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Max Schreck’s uncanny performance and makeup design were absolutely mesmerizing, as was the film’s unparalleled haunting atmosphere, made all the more palpable by the grainy 16mm transfer to VHS.—
Robert Eggers,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Oct. 2025
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The Sora 2 app was released late last month and has already caused controversy for its uncanny ability to create realistic videos generated by AI.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Kennedy sought the advice of doctors after dealing with severe memory loss and brain fog, reportedly leading to a scan of his brain that showed a dark spot in the imagery.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
15 Oct. 2025
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Instantly, her apartment faded away, to be replaced by a dark void.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This was the danger Madison considered — that mystic memory would falsely elevate the Constitution.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Oct. 2025
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Despite some promising high-concept notions such as an intergalactic federation, mystic beings, parasitic species, a sentient interstellar craft, and Slipstream FTL quantum mechanics, seemingly inevitable creative differences arose as the show progressed.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inscrutable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inscrutable. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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