indiscernible
Americanadjective
adjective
-
incapable of being discerned
-
scarcely discernible or perceptible
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of indiscernible
First recorded in 1625–35; in- 3 + discernible
Explanation
Indiscernible things can't be seen or sensed clearly. A black cat is indiscernible in the dark, and the tiny amount of gray in your hair might also be indiscernible. Flavors are indiscernible if you can't taste them, and objects are indiscernible if you can't see them. Your next door neighbor's piano playing is also indiscernible if he plays quietly, with the windows shut so you can't hear. The adjective indiscernible adds the "not" or "opposite of" prefix in- to discernible, from its Latin root discernere, "to set apart," or "to distinguish."
Vocabulary lists containing indiscernible
The Great Gatsby
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30 GRE Words Beginning with "I"
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Home Is Not a Country
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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.
At close distances, the two sounds are almost indiscernible to the human ear.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2025
The eggs failed to hatch and the contents of six of them were indiscernible.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 9, 2023
“This looks so good,” the 33-year-old coos, flashing a grin indiscernible from her more cloying online characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2023
Out on the river, where the silvery water is indiscernible from the sky, the perilous and haphazard nature of the trade becomes clear.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 18, 2022
What had begun as a nearly indiscernible trail near the barn had broadened into a well-trodden path.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
