incomprehensible
Americanadjective
-
impossible to understand or comprehend; unintelligible.
- Synonyms:
- obscure, bewildering, baffling
-
Archaic. limitless; not limited or capable of being limited.
adjective
-
incapable of being understood; unintelligible
-
archaic limitless; boundless
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of incomprehensible
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word incomprehēnsibilis. See in- 3, comprehensible
Explanation
If your poetry is incomprehensible, it's difficult to understand, and it might be impossible to explain. Could be you're a genius! Could be you're just not very good at poetry. Incomprehensible originates from the Latin incomprehensibilis: in- ("not") and comprehensibilis ("perceptible, evident, intelligible"). Many unfamiliar customs or rituals seem incomprehensible from a distance, for example, the early Chinese practice of foot binding, in which girls tightly bandaged their feet to prevent them from getting bigger. Similarly, future generations may find today's Western high-heeled shoes incomprehensible, leading them to ask, "What in the world were they thinking?!"
Vocabulary lists containing incomprehensible
Beowulf: A New Telling
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The City of Ember
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"By Any Other Name"
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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.
If we had, it might have come with a purposefully incomprehensible slogan, absent any sound or fury but definitely signifying nothing.
From Salon • May 17, 2026
Kenyan President William Ruto has faced a social media backlash after publicly suggesting that Nigerian-accented English was incomprehensible and required a translator.
From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026
Appalled by the incomprehensible waste—Hiroshima was still weeks away—he searched for precedent in myth and antiquity, alighting at once on the North African city of Carthage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
Wingtech representatives responded that the Dutch intervention was "incomprehensible" and meant the row "degenerated needlessly".
From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026
The Fugitive Slave Law was no longer a great many incomprehensible words written down on the country’s lawbooks.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
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.
