impenetrable
Americanadjective
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not penetrable; that cannot be penetrated, pierced, entered, etc.
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inaccessible to ideas, influences, etc.
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incapable of being understood; inscrutable; unfathomable.
an impenetrable mystery.
- Synonyms:
- hidden, obscure, mysterious, incomprehensible
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Physics. possessing impenetrability.
adjective
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incapable of being pierced through or penetrated
an impenetrable forest
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incapable of being understood; incomprehensible
impenetrable jargon
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incapable of being seen through
impenetrable gloom
-
not susceptible to ideas, influence, etc
impenetrable ignorance
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physics (of a body) incapable of occupying the same space as another body
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of impenetrable
1425–75; late Middle English impenetrabel < Latin impenetrābilis. See im- 2, penetrable
Explanation
Impenetrable describes something that's impossible to get through. Whether it's a brick wall or a difficult reading passage, something impenetrable won't let you in. Impenetrable comes from the Latin impenetrabilis, meaning "not to put or get into, enter into." Impenetrable, the adjective, has two meanings. When you're trying to learn a subject that is so complicated, so confusing or so detailed that it seems like it's in another language or from another planet, it's impenetrable — like calculus. Or a physical object can be impenetrable, meaning it is impossible to actually enter or get inside of, like that impenetrable nightclub that has bouncers watching every entrance to keep you and your friends out.
Vocabulary lists containing impenetrable
The Diary of Anne Frank
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The Alchemist
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 1
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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.
ReWilding Argentina is providing logistical support to the effort, which some conservationists hope will open the door to translocating guanacos even farther north, to Argentina’s Impenetrable National Park.
From Science Magazine • Nov. 1, 2023
BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt visits Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda, to find out what mountain gorilla conservation can tell us about protecting other species.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2022
They went on their honeymoon to Africa, stopping in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to see the silverback gorillas and then off to safaris in Kenya and Tanzania.
From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2021
Impenetrable as it may be to many an alienated, confounded moviegoer — Lo, an 88% Rotten Tomatoes rating!
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2021
Impenetrable, im-pen′e-tra-bl, adj. incapable of being pierced: preventing another body from occupying the same space at the same time: not to be impressed in mind or heart.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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.
