incommunicado

American  

[in-kuh-myoo-ni-kah-doh] / ˌɪn kəˌmyu nɪˈkɑ doʊ /

adjective

1. (especially of a prisoner) deprived of any communication with others.

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incommunicado British  

/ ˌɪnkəˌmjuːnɪˈkɑːdəʊ /

adverb

1. (postpositive) deprived of communication with other people, as while in solitary confinement

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Etymology

Origin of incommunicado

1835–45, < Spanish incomunicado. See in- ³, communicate

Explanation

Someone who's incommunicado can't communicate with other people, either because they don't want to or because they're not able to. If you spend the weekend on an island with no cell service or Internet, you'll be incommunicado for a couple of days. When someone is arrested, they're briefly incommunicado, although legally they will eventually be able to make at least one phone call. Your parents will worry about you if you're suddenly incommunicado, especially if they're used to hearing from you several times a day and reading your regular social media posts. Incommunicado was coined in the U.S., from the Spanish incomunicado, "deprived of communication."

Example Sentences

Nevertheless thousands remain in prison, incommunicado and without trial, in a country long criticised for alleged human rights abuses.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

Ray is incommunicado for a while after their first “date,” but finally he asks Colin to come over.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Subaihi is among a 50-plus STC delegation that has been incommunicado since arriving in Riyadh in the early hours of Wednesday.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

ICE held her incommunicado for 24 hours and then shuffled her through three states before jailing her in Louisiana.

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2025

Addressed to his parents and his brother, they indicate that he would be incommunicado for “a month or two.”

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer