INEFFABLE

indefinable, indescribable, ineffable, unspeakable, untellable, unutterable

(adjective) defying expression or description; “indefinable yearnings”; “indescribable beauty”; “ineffable ecstasy”; “inexpressible anguish”; “unspeakable happiness”; “unutterable contempt”; “a thing of untellable splendor”

ineffable, unnameable, unspeakable, unutterable

(adjective) too sacred to be uttered; “the ineffable name of the Deity”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

ineffable (not comparable)

Beyond expression in words; unspeakable. [from 1450]

Synonyms: indescribable, inexpressible, unspeakable, Thesaurus:indescribable, Thesaurus:incomprehensible

Antonym: effable (archaic)

Forbidden to be uttered; taboo.

Synonyms: taboo, unspeakable, unutterable

Coordinate terms

• innumerable

• innumerous

• unnumerable

• incalculable

Source: Wiktionary


In*ef"fa*ble, a. Etym: [L. ineffabilis: cf. F. ineffable. See In- not, and Effable, Fame.]

Definition: Incapable of being expresses in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable; as, the ineffable joys of heaven. Contentment with our lot . . . will diffuse ineffable contenBeattie.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 April 2025

GUILLOTINE

(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”


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Coffee Trivia

In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.

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