as in mysterious
impossible to understand
advanced scientific theories of ungraspable complexity for the layperson
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Recent Examples of ungraspable
Paul’s attachments are ungraspable, transient, and forever underwritten by raw desire.
—
Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 27 Jan. 2025
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
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
The river itself was a standard-issue metaphor of time’s ungraspable flux and constancy.
—Wells Tower, Outside Online, 11 July 2018
Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 27 Jan. 2025
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
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
The river itself was a standard-issue metaphor of time’s ungraspable flux and constancy.
—Wells Tower, Outside Online, 11 July 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungraspable
Adjective
-
The family adventure show is set at mysterious Crookhaven School where high achieving young crooks from across the world are secretly selected to hone their skills in disciplines such as deception, crimnastics, forgery and infiltration.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
15 May 2025
-
Dipping in and out of this book over a few months might inspire a new reverence for the mysterious human body.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
15 May 2025
Adjective
-
Given the incomprehensible thought of an empty beach on the island of Hawaii (and nationwide), surely the movie's effect on viewers was impactful.—
Skyler Caruso,
People.com,
16 May 2025
-
Honestly, whoever designed this mind-numbing, incomprehensible plan should be banished to an island where they will hopefully be devoured by wildlife.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 May 2025
Adjective
-
Zendaya is something of a style icon, known for her bold, distinctive outfits, but TikTokers reckon that the Dune star is hiding an unfathomable secret inside her oversized hat.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
6 May 2025
-
The expansion of the loophole for tariff-free shipments of goods nearly a decade ago gave rise to Temu, Shein and other low-cost online retailers offering items straight from Chinese factories at unfathomable discounts.—
Daisuke Wakabayashi,
New York Times,
3 May 2025
Adjective
-
Each week, Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale would drive into a new locale, discover that a murder had taken place, and solve it using her uncanny ability to recognize when people are lying.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
9 May 2025
-
The weekly Colombo-esque whodunnit follows Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a woman whose uncanny ability to spot a lie routinely gets her in trouble.—
Hannah Jackson,
Vogue,
8 May 2025
Adjective
-
Franklin’s script just doesn’t find an emotional center among so many stock, under-articulated strands, though that may be partly due to thick accents rendering some dialogue unintelligible to American ears.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
29 Apr. 2025
-
But wait: That angry voice seems to grow louder, if still unintelligible — and is now joined by the murmuring of others.—
John Hanc,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Cybersecurity strategy has undergone a fundamental shift—from aspiring to build impenetrable defenses to accepting that breaches are inevitable.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
-
But in person, nothing about her seems impenetrable.—
Thania Garcia,
Variety,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
Yes, the tales of game-making can veer into the obscure and esoteric.—
The New York Times,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Baseball is a game with a history of strange and esoteric firsts, and Misner’s homer was the first time a player’s inaugural big league homer was an opening day walk-off.—
Barry M. Bloom,
Sportico.com,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Starting from a relatively obscure blog, Yarvin has emerged as one of the most prominent critics of ...—
Fred Bauer,
National Review,
10 May 2025
-
What historical and cultural circumstances lead a language down such obscure paths?—
Cody Cottier,
Scientific American,
9 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ungraspable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungraspable. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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