incomprehensible
Americanadjective
-
impossible to understand or comprehend; unintelligible.
- Synonyms:
- obscure, bewildering, baffling
-
Archaic. limitless; not limited or capable of being limited.
adjective
-
incapable of being understood; unintelligible
-
archaic limitless; boundless
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incomprehensible
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word incomprehēnsibilis. See in- 3, comprehensible
Explanation
If your poetry is incomprehensible, it's difficult to understand, and it might be impossible to explain. Could be you're a genius! Could be you're just not very good at poetry. Incomprehensible originates from the Latin incomprehensibilis: in- ("not") and comprehensibilis ("perceptible, evident, intelligible"). Many unfamiliar customs or rituals seem incomprehensible from a distance, for example, the early Chinese practice of foot binding, in which girls tightly bandaged their feet to prevent them from getting bigger. Similarly, future generations may find today's Western high-heeled shoes incomprehensible, leading them to ask, "What in the world were they thinking?!"
Vocabulary lists containing incomprehensible
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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.
Uefa had criticised Fifa's decision at the time, calling it "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable".
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
European football's governing body said Fifa had "crossed a red line" and described it as an "unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision".
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
He would envision the next morning’s newspaper headline as he spoke to Congress, ready to turn incomprehensible if he didn’t like what he imagined reading the next day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Here’s another way to comprehend the incomprehensible scale of a trillion dollars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
His written work was difficult to follow and employed a private form of notation that many found incomprehensible.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
