inconceivable
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- inconceivability noun
- inconceivableness noun
- inconceivably adverb
Etymology
Origin of inconceivable
First recorded in 1625–35; in- 3 + conceivable
Explanation
If something is inconceivable, it doesn’t seem possible, it’s hard to imagine, or it can’t be true. It might seem inconceivable that a society would choose to pay bankers more than teachers, but it’s true. When an idea or event is inconceivable, it's so outlandish, amazing, or horrible that it’s hard to believe. The horrible acts committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust are inconceivable on many levels, yet we know they occurred. Some things are inconceivable because they really wouldn't happen — for example, it's inconceivable that you would actually eat your hat.
Vocabulary lists containing inconceivable
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Paramount has set a closing target date of Sept. 30, although the deal faces several regulatory hurdles, so it is not inconceivable that it will get pushed past that date.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026
"It was inconceivable that this man who shared my life could have committed these horrors," says Ms Pelicot.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
“I think it’s virtually inconceivable to imagine recovery at this point. Let’s imagine three more years of this,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026
Alibaba ADRs remain priced around $150—up 0.5% in Monday’s premarket—which is just half of the late-2020 high, but a price level that may have been inconceivable in 2022, for instance, when it traded near $60.
From Barron's • Dec. 22, 2025
From her perspective, it was not as inconceivable as others have found it.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
