as in inexpressible
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Recent Examples of unsayable
The tennis-ball POV from Challengers, Isabelle Huppert’s cat with the unknowable and unsayable name, the children dressed as Serge Gainsbourg on French TV.
—
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
And the true heroes, consequently, are those who dare to say the unsayable.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2024
This was a composer tasked with saying the unsayable against the unspeakable.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024
American literature took a while to say the unsayable.
—S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2023
With remarkable speed, however, the unsayable has become close to conventional wisdom.
—Michael Barnett, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2023
One senses that there’s an unsayable aspect to it.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 12 Oct. 2020
And thus stand up for the subconscious, for the unsaid and unsayable, for the historically and personally indigestible, for the unprettified, for the autonomy of an imagination that cannot escape history, and—more than anything else—for black freedom of expression itself.
—Zadie Smith, The New York Review of Books, 27 Feb. 2020
The emotional focus and intensity of her distinctive music is constantly overturned by her infectious quicksilver laugh and easy lightness of touch, coupled with her uncanny ability to hear and express the unsayable.
—Hilton Dresden, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Dec. 2022
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 1 Nov. 2024
And the true heroes, consequently, are those who dare to say the unsayable.
—Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 5 Sep. 2024
This was a composer tasked with saying the unsayable against the unspeakable.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 26 Jan. 2024
American literature took a while to say the unsayable.
—S. C. Cornell, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2023
With remarkable speed, however, the unsayable has become close to conventional wisdom.
—Michael Barnett, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2023
One senses that there’s an unsayable aspect to it.
—Michael Brendan Dougherty, National Review, 12 Oct. 2020
And thus stand up for the subconscious, for the unsaid and unsayable, for the historically and personally indigestible, for the unprettified, for the autonomy of an imagination that cannot escape history, and—more than anything else—for black freedom of expression itself.
—Zadie Smith, The New York Review of Books, 27 Feb. 2020
The emotional focus and intensity of her distinctive music is constantly overturned by her infectious quicksilver laugh and easy lightness of touch, coupled with her uncanny ability to hear and express the unsayable.
—Hilton Dresden, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Dec. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsayable
- inexpressible
- indefinable
- indescribable
- unknowable
- inexplicable
- incomprehensible
- unaccountable
- unfathomable
Adjective
-
Historians are struggling to recover their inexpressible secrets.—
Erin Maglaque,
The New York Review of Books,
15 Nov. 2024
-
Indeed, there is something more cosmic, spiritual and inexpressible about what is missing —a poignant reminder of the profound void left by SOPHIE’s departure from our astral plane.—
Juan Velasquez,
Them,
23 Sep. 2024
Adjective
-
An indefinable musical by a French auteur is headed for millions of streaming subscribers.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Nov. 2024
-
Abstract images composed of indefinable light and inky darkness recur as well, even in his later multiscreen video installations, which are more narrative-driven.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
3 Sep. 2019
Adjective
-
And that indescribable thing that makes a great player a great winner, check that one, too.—
Dom Amore,
Hartford Courant,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The doctors also spoke about their personal challenges and the indescribable struggles of their colleagues in Gaza.—
Camilla Alcini,
ABC News,
12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Ledger ingeniously plays the Joker as a chaotic force of nature, a scarred and unknowable ghoul clad in clown paint and a garish suit from Demon's Wearhouse.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
-
Durant is an avid guardian of his feelings, perennially declaring the off-limits and unknowable.—
Marcus Thompson II,
The Athletic,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Which, kind of, explains Dylan’s latest inexplicable Instagram missive: a no-context re-post of a 2016 in-store performance by Machine Gun Kelly at Park Ave.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
27 Feb. 2025
-
The glacial pacing and clunky script work in tandem with deviations from the source text, including an inexplicable bathtub masturbation scene, to make a cinematic crime for the ages.—
Eddie Mouradian,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
In a twist that’s almost incomprehensible today, the Chinese government even officially adopted the US State Department’s method for reporting air quality.—
Zeyi Yang,
WIRED,
5 Mar. 2025
-
This defendant’s actions are incomprehensible, and he will be held accountable.—
Stepheny Price,
Fox News,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy.—
NPR,
NPR,
5 Mar. 2025
-
The unaccountable bureaucracy and bloated government that find a home there, and the public and private corruption that go along with them, face serious scrutiny and genuine antagonism for the first time in a while.—
Jack Butler,
National Review,
2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The breadth of that command is almost unfathomable.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
28 Feb. 2025
-
The idea that someone in the industrial sector had a past in film was almost unfathomable to them.—
Kody Boye,
USA TODAY,
21 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unsayable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsayable. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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