indefinable

[ in-di-fahy-nuh-buhl ]
See synonyms for indefinable on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. not definable; not readily identified, described, analyzed, or determined.

noun
  1. something that cannot be defined: the indefinables of great musicianship.

Origin of indefinable

1
First recorded in 1800–10; in-3 + definable

Other words from indefinable

  • in·de·fin·a·ble·ness, noun
  • in·de·fin·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use indefinable in a sentence

  • Those long suburbs melting indefinably away into the capital forbid all surprise.

    The Caxtons, Complete | Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  • Somehow the moonlit stillness of the forest had altered indefinably.

    Diane of the Green Van | Leona Dalrymple
  • The gesture was indefinably reminiscent of Dallisa, and for the first time I saw the likeness between them.

    The Door Through Space | Marion Zimmer Bradley
  • Reginald was changed—vaguely, almost indefinably, but certainly changed.

  • He felt like a different man and looked to her indefinably strange when he faced her again quietly.

    Jewel Weed | Alice Ames Winter

British Dictionary definitions for indefinable

indefinable

/ (ˌɪndɪˈfaɪnəbəl) /


adjective
  1. incapable of being defined or analysed: there was an indefinable sense of terror

Derived forms of indefinable

  • indefinableness, noun
  • indefinably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012