unspeakable

adjective

ˌən-ˈspē-kə-bəl How to pronounce unspeakable (audio)
Definition of unspeakablenext
as in incredible
beyond the power to describe continually encountered unspeakable beauty in their travels through the Alps

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 unspeakable That’s one thing; ballplayers love nothing more than throwing around large sums of money to coerce normal humans to do unspeakable tasks. — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 14 July 2026 On-screen, stars depict unspeakable acts of violence and cruelty. — Michael O’Donnell, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026 When once-unspeakable truths break through and are finally said aloud, that is a win. — Marcus Anthony Hunter, Time, 19 June 2026 The prosecution claims David did this unspeakable crime while in the grips of a night terror, and his friends and family seemingly believe that story. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 18 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for unspeakable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unspeakable
  1. incredible
  2. indescribable
  3. unutterable
  4. ineffable
  5. inexpressible
  6. incommunicable
  7. indefinable
Adjective
  • Spot an incredible variety of wildlife, including sea lions, sea otters, porpoises, bald eagles and puffins.
    — Wendy Altschuler, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • What excited us about the Daisy Chain Reaction was the opportunity to give Olivia Rodrigo’s incredible community of fans that extra invitation to take that first step.
    — Pedro Moura, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of incredible
Adjective
  • The brain-squeezing rush of those starts is nearly indescribable.
    — Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 15 July 2026
  • Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin’s totally indescribable HBO series was both a grand evolution of the Tim Robinson experience and a wildly original contribution to what television could be and feel like.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 8 July 2026
Definition of indescribable
Adjective
  • An idle scroll through any social media feed will reveal violent language against Jewish people that was considered widely unutterable a few years ago.
    — Alexander Smith, NBC news, 1 May 2026
  • Stripped of orchestral arrangement, the emotion in Ross’s voice provokes that unutterable connection that makes singer and listener one in a desire to act in the present for the present.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 4 Dec. 2025
Definition of unutterable
Adjective
  • But even those procedures seem to speak to something ineffable about the cultures of the parties.
    — Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Gus Birney, Shulman’s real-life daughter, brings an ineffable lightness to Sarah Nell, the joyfulness and sweetness of the portrayal all the more wondrous before of all the darkness that surrounds it.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of ineffable
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
Definition of inexpressible
Adjective
  • But because some crucial part of artistic expression is always slipping toward the incommunicable, the most powerful art is sometimes less a dialogue than a soliloquy.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 May 2026
  • Margaret would whisper in the dark and laugh quietly, entertained by her own incommunicable thoughts.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Apr. 2026
Definition of incommunicable
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
Definition of indefinable

Browse Nearby Words

unsparingly
unspeakable
unspeakably
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Cite this Entry

“Unspeakable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unspeakable. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on unspeakable

Nglish: Translation of unspeakable for Spanish Speakers

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