inexplicable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inexplicable
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Latin word inexplicābilis. See in- 3, explicable
Explanation
Something inexplicable can't be explained. It doesn't make sense. You don't want to come to the beach on the most beautiful day of the year? That's inexplicable! Inexplicable is made up of the prefix in, which means "not," and explicable, which comes from the Latin explicabilis, meaning "unfolded, unraveled." Do you see the double negative? If something is not unfolded, it's folded up and tangled — like something that doesn't make sense. Your school's decision to call a snow day is inexplicable, if there's barely a layer of snow on the ground.
Vocabulary lists containing inexplicable
A Christmas Carol
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List 5
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The Scarlet Letter
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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.
Inexplicable, indeed, to a justice like Sotomayor, who cannot bear the thought of executing the innocent.
From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026
Inexplicable picks by Howell — lauded by players and coaches in recent weeks as the franchise’s potential QB of the future — came in the first and fourth quarters.
From Washington Times • Nov. 19, 2023
Inexplicable fires first obliterate Japanese freighters and irradiate fish, a ripped-from-the-headlines echo of the Lucky Dragon No. 5 incident—a Japanese tuna ship showered in radioactive fallout from the Castle Bravo thermonuclear test at Bikini Atoll.
From Scientific American • Nov. 3, 2023
"There was no sign of a wasps nest and all of the doors and windows were shut. Inexplicable."
From BBC • Aug. 16, 2023
"Inexplicable pedantry of science!" thought Elsley to himself, while Tom worked on steadfastly, and at last rose, and, taking out a phial from his basket, was about to deposit in it something invisible.
From Two Years Ago, Volume I by Kingsley, Charles
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.
