incommunicable

American  

[in-kuh-myoo-ni-kuh-buhl] / ˌɪn kəˈmyu nɪ kə bəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being communicated, imparted, shared, etc.

2. not communicative; taciturn.

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incommunicable British  

/ ˌɪnkəˈmjuːnɪkəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being communicated

2. an obsolete word for incommunicative

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Other Word Forms

• incommunicability noun
• incommunicableness noun
• incommunicably adverb

Etymology

Origin of incommunicable

From the Late Latin word incommūnicābilis, dating back to 1560–70. See in- ³, communicable

Example Sentences

Mr. Dyer remained a dutiful son but, sensing that part of his life was now incommunicable to his parents, withheld his most important feelings from them.

From The Wall Street Journal

What has happened — the death of a child — is too primal, too animalistic, too fundamentally incommunicable for notions like “consolation” to apply.

From Washington Post

And nothing is more isolating, more incommunicable, than the grief of a parent who has been unable to save their child’s life.

From Washington Post

When Ishmael stops by the Whaleman's Chapel before his fateful journey, "each silent worshipper seemed purposely sitting apart from the other, as if each silent grief were insular and incommunicable."

From Salon

Abstract artists, including Alberto Burri, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Jack Whitten and Mark Bradford, all found unique ways to use such materials to conjure the weight of incommunicable things.

From Washington Post