unsayable

Definition of unsayablenext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of unsayable Well-meaning observers want to split the difference between the sayable and unsayable. Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2026 What the novel is working toward is not the exposure of a violation, let alone the processing of any real-life event, but a recognition of the self—a self who survives the scourges of childhood, and a storytelling-self who learns that fiction can reveal otherwise unsayable truths. Honor Jones, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026 But Woolf’s broad, sweeping pronouncements about what literature is and isn’t capable of were always meant sarcastically; her life’s work, after all, was to push the boundaries of literature so as to say the unsayable. Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025 All fair, but an uncomfortable couch and a passion for the art of the unsayable are not reasons enough to kill oneself. Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for unsayable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsayable
Adjective
  • The universe of the film, as all of Nolan’s worlds are, is one drawn from the muted colors of reluctant determination and it’s structured by a gravity of inexpressible guilt.
    Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 17 July 2026
  • Much like the famed British poets of World War I, who sought to express the inexpressible, Abu Toha strives to capture the unspeakable carnage, futility, and despair of war.
    Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Our movie tastes are determined by some indefinable electrical current of enthusiasm or joy or deep, radiating sadness, or some combination of the three.
    Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Of course, beauty is subject to taste and culture and all sorts of indefinable things.
    Television Critic, Los Angeles Times, 21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
  • Playing college football has made an indescribable impact on my life.
    The Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Her life and legacy of joy and creativity had an indescribable impact on the world.
    Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 25 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Man is an unknowable creature, and few things unsettle it more than forcing it to live within its mystery.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 13 Sep. 2026
  • The more vulnerable a Malkovich character is, the more dangerous and unknowable.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 3 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • Remedy games encourage a kind of obsession and fascination from players, not just with inexplicable lore but with thick atmosphere.
    Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Since at least 1389, two vials purportedly containing the saint’s blood have been venerated in Naples because of their inexplicable ability to liquefy on his feast days.
    Clare Whitton, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • The Music City Miracle now has a rival after Vanderbilt's improbable, and frankly incomprehensible, last-second victory against NC State on Saturday afternoon.
    Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • This city is already a freaky liminal space full of snaking pathways that are almost incomprehensible.
    Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026
Adjective
  • The bottom line for now is that the city is allowing the unaccountable operation of thousands of untaxed machines while simultaneously counting on revenue from their VGT and casino competitors.
    Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • This year alone, $5 billion in taxpayer funds will be siphoned away from public schools to prop up Florida’s unaccountable voucher program, diverting dollars from the more than 80% of children who attend public schools.
    Andrew Spar, Sun Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2026
Adjective
  • Hasan deftly handles political seriousness and an unfathomable history and present of war and punitive state violence against Palestinians.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Dolphins fandom has been a miserable existence for more than a quarter century now, and for reasons that extend well beyond the unfathomable 25-year playoff victory drought in a league that prioritizes parity.
    Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Unsayable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsayable. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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