How to use unthinkable in a sentence
33 example sentences · adjective, noun
Unthinkable means that cannot be believed. Example: “With 16 minutes left on the clock and the tension climbing through the roof, Trinh-Duc tried his luck with a penalty from just inside halfway only to push it wide, but the unthinkable now seemed a real possibility.”
Examples of unthinkable by meaning
adjectiveInconceivable or unimaginable; extremely improbable in a way that goes against common sense.
- Nothing is unthinkable, nothing impossible to the balanced person, provided it comes out of the needs of life and is dedicated to life's further development
- With 16 minutes left on the clock and the tension climbing through the roof, Trinh-Duc tried his luck with a penalty from just inside halfway only to push it wide, but the unthinkable now seemed a real possibility.2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup final: New Zealand 8-7 France”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 27 Nov 2021
- The ruling also comes amid calls from an opposition party for a review of the royal insult law, which would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.2021 November 10, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut Setboonsarng, “Thai court rules students' royal reform call sought to overthrow monarchy”...
nounSomething, or various things collectively, that one dares not think about or do.
- do the unthinkable
- did the unthinkable
More sentences with unthinkable
- With the invasion of Ukraine the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has thrown himself into the unthinkable.2022 March 9, Luuk van Middelaar, “History is brutally back, and Ukraine will test Europe’s appetite for the consequences”, in The…. From the entry cross the Rubicon
- Such language about an American president from a European ally would have been unthinkable before Mr.2021 January 19, Roger Cohen, “Trump Bequeaths Biden an Upended World”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry leitmotif
- Denial and disbelief tend to be the default, not a pragmatic embracing of unthinkables and unpalatables.2019, Paul Williams, Andreas Krebs, The Illusion of Invincibility. From the entry unpalatable
- I bet we're about to lose some unthinkable chunk of it.2018, Keith Gessen, A Terrible Country: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, pages 62–63. From the entry gchat
- The reputational risk of such actions by a central bank would have been unthinkable in the past."2016, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, “Euro 'house of cards' to collapse, warns ECB prophet”, in The Telegraph. From the entry collateral
- This extraordinary act—while not completely unthinkable—becomes explicable if Earnshaw’s compassion is underscored by culpability.2011, Graham Joyce, “Narrative and Regeneration: The Little Monsters Of Templeton by Lauren Groff”, in Danel Olson, editor, 21st-century…. From the entry pseudoincest
- What is unthinkable is that this never occurred to Emily Brontë.2011, Graham Joyce, “Narrative and Regeneration: The Little Monsters Of Templeton by Lauren Groff”, in Danel Olson, editor, 21st-century…. From the entry pseudoincest
- Dissent or satire — especially where these matters were concerned — was unthinkable.2008, Toby Creswell, Notorious Australians, unnumbered page. From the entry ladies' lounge
- On such openheartedness was their marriage founded that concealment or archness was unthinkable.2008, Rebecca Ann Collins, The Pemberley Chronicles: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, Book 1, →ISBN. From the entry openheartedness
- Miniskirts and pantdresses “would have been unthinkable in this section of the country earlier,” a reporter observed.2000, Ruth Rubinstein, Society's Child: Identity, Clothing, And Style, page 222. From the entry pantdress
- The stone went dark, and instantly the supervolcano burst with an unthinkable blast.1984, Richard Monaco, Runes, →ISBN, page 64. From the entry supervolcano
- It is far from unthinkable that Hunter was capable of attempting such politicianship.1946, Jane Marion Oppenheimer, New Aspects of John and William Hunter, →OCLC. From the entry politicianship
- They are unthinkable and only to be approached by the statistician and the poet.1908–1910 (date written; published 1910 October 18), E[dward] M[organ] Forster, “Leonard and Jacky”, in Howards End, 1st American edition…. From the entry gentlefolk
- The nationalist was urging his listeners to question the prevailing narrative, to think the unthinkable, to bend the arc of history.2019, Andrew Marantz, “Prologue”, in Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation…. From the entry arc of history
- Then you'll be ready if the unthinkable happens.2007, Rabbis of Boca Raton Theological Seminary, How to Raise a Jewish Dog, Little, Brown, →ISBN. From the entry unhappenable
- Just because it's unthinkable doesn't mean it's unhappenable.2007, Rabbis of Boca Raton Theological Seminary, How to Raise a Jewish Dog, Little, Brown, →ISBN. From the entry unhappenable
- Yes- I can say for myself that it is almost unthinkable that I would date or mate a nonfur.2001 September 5, Chris Johnson, “Dateing”, in alt.lifestyle.furry, Google Groups. From the entry nonfur
- Then the unthinkable might be actual, the unprecedented possible.1998, John Downton Hazlett, My Generation: Collective Autobiography and Identity Politics, page 192. From the entry kick out the jams
- To be “against” Honors programs is now almost as unthinkable as to be “against” Mom and apple pie.1959 February, Hugh G. J. Aitken, “A Hard Look at Honors Program: A Critical View”, in The Superior Student, volume 2, number 1, Boulder…. From the entry mom and apple pie
- Fellow Slowjamastanis, the unthinkable has happened.2025 January 12, Mark Corona, “Vandalism in Slowjamastan: Where Was Chief Porder Batrol Agent Mark Corona?”, in Porder Batrol, archived…. From the entry Slowjamastani
- Science has long had an image problem but Dr Cox—also known as the rockstar physicist—has done the unthinkable and made particle physics cool.2010 April 25, “The IoS Happy List 2010”, in The Independent, UK, archived from the original on 31 Jan 2018, retrieved 24 May 2014. From the entry rockstar
- It is unthinkable for a straight play to enjoy a life span like those of the blockbuster musicals or to earn such astronomical grosses.2004, Steven Adler, On Broadway: Art and Commerce on the Great White Way, SIU Press, →ISBN, page 221. From the entry musical
- I toy with shouting some tidbit more – some terrifying, unthinkable threat, some blackly fuliginous riddling hex – but my heart's not in it.1972, John Gardner, Grendel, London, page 10. From the entry fuliginous
- For some, the constant deluge that has peaked in the past year is starting to add up to a new (and previously unthinkable) feeling: Taylor Swift fatigue.2024 April 22, Matt Stevens, Shivani Gonzalez, “Taylor Swift Has Given Fans a Lot. Is It Finally Too Much?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry fatigue
- “Nothing can separate us; not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not threats, not even sin, not the thinkable or unthinkable can get between us,” it reads.2023 May 27, Ray Sanchez, “Does Brian Laundrie’s mom risk criminal charges over her ‘burn after reading’ letter? Here’s what legal experts…. From the entry thinkable
- Cobb have all formulated “process Christologies.” In point of fact, all three have only constructed Jesusologies that so naturalize the understanding of divine grace as to make Christology unthinkable.1994, Donald L. Gelpi, “The Turn to Experience in Process Theology”, in The Turn to Experience in Contemporary Theology, New York, N.Y.…. From the entry Jesusology
- Some discothèques allow their patrons to suggest tunes to the disquaire, but at many such an impertinence would be unthinkable—like asking Pablo Casals to play Melancholy Baby.1963 July 5, “The Compleat Virtuosi”, in Time, New York, N.Y.: Time Warner Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Dec…. From the entry disquaire
- To lose a game was bad enough, but to round on a comrade was unpardonable; while to lose from the game a half-back of Cameron's calibre was unthinkable.1912, Ralph Connor, Corporal Cameron of the Northwest Mounted Police. From the entry unpardonable
Meaning of unthinkable
- adjective That cannot be believed.
- adjective Inconceivable or unimaginable; extremely improbable in a way that goes against common sense.
- adjective Extremely improper; extremely at odds with norms of expected behavior.
Questions about unthinkable in a sentence
- How do you use unthinkable in a sentence?
- Unthinkable is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “With 16 minutes left on the clock and the tension climbing through the roof, Trinh-Duc tried his luck with a penalty from just inside halfway only to push it wide, but the unthinkable now seemed a real possibility.”
- What is a short sentence with unthinkable?
- “did the unthinkable”
- What does unthinkable mean?
- Unthinkable means that cannot be believed.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: unthinkable (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use unthinkable in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/unthinkable. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
