as in incomprehensible
impossible to understand
advanced scientific theories of ungraspable complexity for the layperson
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Recent Examples of ungraspable
Its scope is gargantuan and ungraspable, and as such, the appropriate level of grief does not seem human in scale.
—
Literary Hub, 21 July 2025
Paul’s attachments are ungraspable, transient, and forever underwritten by raw desire.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 27 Jan. 2025
One gazes into the geographical expanse of this place to try to grasp the ungraspable scale of things.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper’s Magazine , 5 Jan. 2023
It’s a megagenre, something the poet-philosopher Timothy Morton might call a hyperobject, ungraspable in its ubiquity and scale.
—Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 13 Dec. 2022
The scope of something inexpressible, a mammoth, ungraspable intimation, had overtaken him.
—Greg Jackson, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2021
The ecological relationships that Darwin brings to our attention tell us of a world of bonds much more complex and ungraspable than had ever previously been supposed.
—Longreads, 23 Mar. 2021
The Internet of Things is an ungraspable future, particularly when the fact of a future for Earth at all sometimes sounds implausible.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 14 May 2020
Eraserhead was so ungraspable, so far into left field, that most critics dismissed it at the time.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Literary Hub, 21 July 2025
Paul’s attachments are ungraspable, transient, and forever underwritten by raw desire.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 27 Jan. 2025
One gazes into the geographical expanse of this place to try to grasp the ungraspable scale of things.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper’s Magazine , 5 Jan. 2023
It’s a megagenre, something the poet-philosopher Timothy Morton might call a hyperobject, ungraspable in its ubiquity and scale.
—Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 13 Dec. 2022
The scope of something inexpressible, a mammoth, ungraspable intimation, had overtaken him.
—Greg Jackson, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2021
The ecological relationships that Darwin brings to our attention tell us of a world of bonds much more complex and ungraspable than had ever previously been supposed.
—Longreads, 23 Mar. 2021
The Internet of Things is an ungraspable future, particularly when the fact of a future for Earth at all sometimes sounds implausible.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 14 May 2020
Eraserhead was so ungraspable, so far into left field, that most critics dismissed it at the time.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungraspable
Adjective
-
The wealth at the top is incomprehensible — orders of magnitude beyond the numbers most of us glean from our own bank statements.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Elder millennial parents who may have trouble understanding what their kids are talking about will likely laugh along to how the comedians portray teens’ reliance on seemingly incomprehensible slang terms to communicate with each other.—
Stephanie Ganz,
Parents,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
As if dark energy weren't already mysterious and baffling enough, new research suggests that this unknown force may not be driving galaxies apart at an accelerating rate anymore.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The goddess planet knows the art of seduction, but when transiting Scorpio, her sweetness is equally seductive and mysterious.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Advisers were on hand to teach them the nuances of the Situation Room and the importance of maintaining calm under unfathomable stress.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
21 Oct. 2025
-
That may sound unfathomable to any non-comic reader who watched Steven Yeun's Mark Grayson get bludgeoned, maimed, and nearly disemboweled (sorry, Atom Eve) in an episode-long, cities-spanning fight with Thragg's berzerker warrior, Conquest (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Heeler family home is recreated in uncanny detail—from Bandit’s armchair to the backyard barbecue—with interactive games (led by a cheeky garden gnome named Rhonda), music, and secret nooks that delight kids and grown-ups.—
Alli Forde,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Working with rosters that were far from flawless, Bochy demonstrated an uncanny ability to push the right buttons and put players in positions to succeed.—
Andrew Baggarly,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The removal of Spears' Instagram account comes after years of public concern and defense over her social media presence, in which the pop star has been seen posting dance videos (including with knives), sometimes with unintelligible and bizarre captions.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The vendor said some other things that were unintelligible because of the overlap between her live speech and the lagging translation.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
And in the chaotic months since, clues about Tice’s fate have begun to seep through the walls of Syria’s once-impenetrable prisons and palaces.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Yes, only two additional albums in 30 years since his 1995 debut, with a 14-year gap between the second and third, but an impenetrable recipe for everyone from Beyoncé to Kendrick Lamar.—
Kevin Powell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Then there was the play that made many scratch their heads — the one when the Carolina Panthers’ game-tying field goal was blocked only for an esoteric NFL rule to award the Panthers with the ball, a new set of downs and great field position.—
Alex Zietlow,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Nov. 2025
-
The ideological provocations of Madonna (Ciccone) iconography and the esoteric execution of Björk songs meet (again) in Lux’s palette of fixations.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Outside of safety concerns, a toy intended for an older child can be frustrating and confusing to younger children.—
Anja Webb,
Parents,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Without that administrative approval, Medicare patients — and their doctors — have been left in a very complicated and confusing limbo.—
Yuki Noguchi,
NPR,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ungraspable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungraspable. Accessed 13 Nov. 2025.
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