inscrutable
Syllables: in·scrut·able/ˌɪnˈskɹuːtəbl̩/
inscrutable adjective: difficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom, or interpret.
Adjective
inscrutable (comparative more inscrutable, superlative most inscrutable)
- Difficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom, or interpret.
- His inscrutable theories would years later become the foundation of a whole new science.
- The pale, inscrutable determinateness, and flinchless intrepidity of Pierre, now began to domineer upon them; for any social unusualness or greatness is sometimes most impressive in the retrospect.1852 July, Herman Melville, “Book XXIV. Lucy at the Apostles’.”, in Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, section IV, page 445
- Synonyms:
- abstruse, Chinese, dense, enigmatic, fathomless, bottomless, Greek, inapprehensible, incognizable, incomprehensible
Noun
inscrutable (plural inscrutables)
- One who or that which is inscrutable; a person, etc. that cannot be comprehended.
inscrutable meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
inscrutable in Hindi
- difficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom or interpret
- दुरधिगम durdhigam, दुर्ज्ञेय durjñey, दुर्बोध durbodh, गूढ़ gūṛh, दुरत्यय duratyay
inscrutable in Tamil
- புரிந்து கொள்ள கடினமான, விளங்காத
inscrutable in Urdu
- ناقابل وضاحت
inscrutable in Bengali
- রহস্যময়, দুর্জ্ণেয়
More languagesFewer languages
- inscrutable in Malayalam
- അന്വേഷിക്കാൻ കഴിയാത്ത, ഗഹനം, ദുർഗ്രാഹ്യമായ, വിശദീകരിക്കാനൊക്കാത്ത
- inscrutable in Arabic
- غامِض ḡāmiḍ, غَلِق ḡaliq, مُبْهَم mubham, مُسْتَغْلِق mustaḡliq
Examples of inscrutable in a sentence
- It came at the end of his speeches like a seal applied on the words to make the meaning of the commonest phrase appear absolutely inscrutable.1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The...
- She called my vanity license plate inscrutable!2007 October 11, Robert Carlock, “Jack Gets in the Game”, in 30 Rock, season 2, episode 2, spoken by Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan):
Synonyms of inscrutable
- abstruse
- Chinese
- dense
- enigmatic
- fathomless
- bottomless
- Greek
- inapprehensible
- incognizable
- incomprehensible
21 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of inscrutable
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more inscrutable |
| superlative | most inscrutable |
| Noun | |
| plural | inscrutables |
Origin of inscrutable
Borrowed into late Middle English from Late Latin īnscrūtābilis, from in- (“not”) + scrūtō (“to examine”), corresponding to in- + scrutable
Words formed from inscrutable
Questions about inscrutable
- What does inscrutable mean?
- Inscrutable means difficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom, or interpret.
- What is inscrutable in Hindi?
- Inscrutable in Hindi is दुरधिगम (durdhigam), दुर्ज्ञेय (durjñey), दुर्बोध (durbodh). See Inscrutable meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use inscrutable in a sentence?
- It came at the end of his speeches like a seal applied on the words to make the meaning of the commonest phrase appear absolutely inscrutable.
- What part of speech is inscrutable?
- Inscrutable can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce inscrutable?
- Inscrutable is pronounced /ˌɪnˈskɹuːtəbl̩/.
Words near inscrutable in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: inscrutable (page history and authors); inscrutable (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inscrutable (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Inscrutable (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inscrutable (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-inscrutable.ogg.
Cite this entry: “inscrutable.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/inscrutable. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.