as in inexpressible
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Recent Examples of unsayable
Hordes of us are out there hoping to say the unsayable.
—
Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
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
Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 28 Mar. 2025
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
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
-
Historians are struggling to recover their inexpressible secrets.—
Erin Maglaque,
The New York Review of Books,
15 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Her work often explores indefinable experiences and emotions, intimacy, connection, and the body’s relationship to nature.—
Samantha Bergeson,
IndieWire,
19 Mar. 2025
-
An indefinable musical by a French auteur is headed for millions of streaming subscribers.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Typically, Soto will show up alone, with loads of fresh flowers and laminated pictures of victims, when something indescribable happens — strangers off the street offer to help set up the display, each taking a moment to contribute to this memorial.—
Megan Forrester,
ABC News,
6 Feb. 2025
-
This sends Charlie down a rabbit hole of indescribable grief.—
Pete Hammond,
Deadline,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
And then, aren’t cats emblematic of whatever is familiar but ultimately unknowable?—
Barry Schwabsky,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Definitive answers to these questions are likely unknowable.—
Terina Allen,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The choice to center a film that primarily exists as a primer on the Gospels for young viewers around the parenting struggles of a 19th century literary figure who is not exactly at the forefront of culture is inexplicable.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
11 Apr. 2025
-
Doncic was traded seemingly at the peak of his career, which made the trade even more shocking and inexplicable.—
Raja Krishnamoorthi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Researching feels incomprehensible or inapplicable, especially as a business owner.—
Bree Manay,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
-
The answer may not be satisfying, but maybe that’s the point: the crime was always going to be incomprehensible.—
Bailey Seybolt,
People.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Illinois residents deserve a more efficient and effective governmental system than the current chaotic mix of unaccountable jurisdictions.—
David Greising,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Apr. 2025
-
At what other moment in modern times has a single man wielded so much unaccountable power over such a large swath of the world economy?—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Think of it as Bannon on the one side, versus Newt Gingrich, anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and others on the other — a debate that once seemed unfathomable for Republicans who have spent generations working to lower taxes and reduce the scope of the federal government.—
Lisa Mascaro,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Apr. 2025
-
The overwhelming interest in last week’s classic car review was unfathomable.—
Marc D Grasso,
Hartford Courant,
19 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unsayable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsayable. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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