as in incredible
too extraordinary or improbable to believe
to most people it seemed unthinkable that such a gentle man could be guilty of such awful crimes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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 unthinkable
What followed would have been unthinkable at the time.
—
Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025
And in a move that would have been unthinkable even a year ago, India just resumed offering tourist visas for Chinese citizens, ending a five-year freeze following deadly clashes in a disputed border area in 2020.
—Danish Manzoor Bhat, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 July 2025
Some people had made banners and waved them during the show, and there were circle pits during our songs, which would be unthinkable back home.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 23 July 2025
To be able to do both — and at such a high level — is almost unthinkable for other players.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unthinkable
Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025
And in a move that would have been unthinkable even a year ago, India just resumed offering tourist visas for Chinese citizens, ending a five-year freeze following deadly clashes in a disputed border area in 2020.
—Danish Manzoor Bhat, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 July 2025
Some people had made banners and waved them during the show, and there were circle pits during our songs, which would be unthinkable back home.
—Billboard Japan, Billboard, 23 July 2025
To be able to do both — and at such a high level — is almost unthinkable for other players.
—Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for unthinkable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unthinkable
Adjective
-
The Encore® family of azaleas stands apart from all others with their incredible reblooming ability, sun tolerance, and cold hardiness.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Perhaps it should have been done a long time ago, then this incredible young man, and so many others, would not have had to go through the horrors of Violent Crime.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Rodríguez looked incredulous at the thought that this was the evidence against him.—
Melissa Sanchez,
ProPublica,
29 July 2025
-
When one reporter asked a multi-part question about Epstein and the memo, Bondi began to answer, before an incredulous Trump asked to interrupt the attorney general to offer his own reply.—
Meredith Kile,
People.com,
8 July 2025
Adjective
-
Any appeal by Patterson was unlikely to succeed, though it could not be ruled out, Beale said on Friday.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Are there case of Legionnaires' disease in Michigan? Because Legionnaires' disease is not transmissible from person to person, the New York City cluster is unlikely to become a regional epidemic that would spread into neighboring states.—
Juan Carlos Castillo,
Freep.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
That suggests 2014 may have been a tipping point beyond which returning to normal wet-dry cycles may be impossible on human timescales.—
Mark Gongloff,
Mercury News,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Humanity Protocol, valued at over a billion dollars, uses palm scans to confirm identity so impersonation becomes almost impossible.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Given that the family has acknowledged trying for decades to plant the Trump flag in the Gulf, these mega-deals are inconceivable without Trump’s Presidency.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
11 Aug. 2025
-
That’s not an inconceivable outcome, even with this interest from Newcastle.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
25 July 2025
Adjective
-
Linking modern and ancient life, Below the Clouds alights on a specific region yet feels connected to everyone’s contemporary moment—the contemplation of the unimaginable nestled within our daily existence.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Such a temperature seems unimaginable in human experience, and indeed this temperature is too hot to be true.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
And the notion of me showing up and asking them for money is still unbelievable to this day.—
Jeryl Brunner,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Meanwhile, the plans to evacuate the makeshift camp in the event of a major storm are skimpy and frankly, unbelievable.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unthinkable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unthinkable. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share