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Synonyms

indefinable

American  
[in-di-fahy-nuh-buhl] / ˌɪn dɪˈfaɪ nə bəl /

adjective

  1. not definable; not readily identified, described, analyzed, or determined.

noun

  1. something that cannot be defined.

    the indefinables of great musicianship.
indefinable British  
/ ˌɪndɪˈfaɪnəbəl /

adjective

  1. incapable of being defined or analysed

    there was an indefinable sense of terror
"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of indefinable

First recorded in 1800–10; in- 3 + definable ( def. )

Vocabulary lists containing indefinable

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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.

Indefinable, unshakable, it is the heroism of people not called upon to be heroes … Camp is always in the future; that is why the present needs it so badly.”

From Slate • Apr. 19, 2013

Life Is Indefinable is dedicated to his newborn son and has a beautiful acoustic warmth and much tenderness.

From The Guardian • Nov. 15, 2012

Do you know what it is to yearn for the Indefinable, and yet to be brought face to face, dally, with the Multiplication Table?

From The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck), Sir

Indefinable evaporations from the dark bundles of houses wherein people had packed themselves away.

From Erik Dorn by Hecht, Ben

Indefinable, in that it was neither forest nor mountain nor yet an atmospheric illusion produced by the presence of watery vapor.

From The Doomsman by Sutphen, Van Tassel

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.