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 scope of the effort is almost incomprehensible, both for its sheer size and persistence on a low-lying peninsula, where the delineation between land and sea has always been somewhat unclear and is becoming less so.—
Amy Green,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
-
In these cases, the equations will predict a fluid moving in some unphysical, incomprehensible way — spinning into an impossibly fast vortex, for instance, or instantly reversing its flow.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Not to mention the titular bugs, a swarm of blood-invading creatures discovered by her new lover, the mysterious drifter Peter Evans (Namir Smallwood).—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
9 Jan. 2026
-
The Columbus, Ohio, police chief is speaking out for the first time since the mysterious murders of dentist Spencer Tepe and his wife, Monique Tepe.—
Emily Shapiro,
ABC News,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
God grant me the grace to forgive also, despite my unfathomable trauma.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
8 Jan. 2026
-
On the contrary, over his previous four games (featuring three Knicks losses), Towns shot 4-of-9 from the field against the New Orleans Pelicans, 5-of-10 against the San Antonio Spurs, 6-of-16 against the Philadelphia 76ers and an unfathomable one-of-four against the Detroit Pistons.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Some of Lilo’s predictions have gone viral for their uncanny accuracy.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
6 Jan. 2026
-
There’s something uncanny about this still and stunning portrait of a twenty-one-year-old Taylor Swift, shot by Katy Grannan for Lizzie Widdicombe’s Profile of the singer, in 2011.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
4 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
As satire, Next to Heaven is unintelligible, as though someone is universalizing their own hangups and then skewering them for clout.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Dec. 2025
-
A number of individuals who were in that classroom told authorities that the gunman shouted an unintelligible statement and then began shooting students.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
15 Dec. 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
-
While airline miles are easier to earn than ever, using them well—and maximizing their value—can often feel confusing.—
Lauren Dana Ellman,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Choose decisive steps over a confusing kerfuffle!—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ungraspable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungraspable. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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