incomprehensible
[in-kom-pri-hen-suh-buh l, in-kom-]
- impossible to understand or comprehend; unintelligible.
- Archaic. limitless; not limited or capable of being limited.
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Origin of incomprehensible
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word incomprehēnsibilis. See in-3, comprehensible
Synonyms
See more synonyms for incomprehensible on Thesaurus.com1. baffling, bewildering, obscure.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for incomprehensible
Contemporary Examples
He frequently slips into Neapolitan dialect so thick that is incomprehensible.
The Scottish language is, as all good Third World languages must be, incomprehensible.
Their stories were told again and again in an attempt to assimilate the tragedy, to comprehend the incomprehensible.
A former senior advisor to Karzai says that his recent manner of dealing with the BSA has been “incomprehensible for Afghans.”
When they received an incomprehensible cable from Grenada, they just ignored it.
Historical Examples
The thing was incomprehensible to Tip, and altogether a fanciful notion.
Little DorritCharles Dickens
Is not she the one woman who would have understood the incomprehensible?
Casanova's HomecomingArthur Schnitzler
There was silence everywhere, and I wondered why, as it seemed to me incomprehensible.
My Double LifeSarah Bernhardt
The only sound he could raise was an incomprehensible guttural grunt.
The Three Cities Trilogy, CompleteEmile Zola
I lose myself again in trying to understand what is incomprehensible.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)Maria Edgeworth
incomprehensible
- incapable of being understood; unintelligible
- archaic limitless; boundless
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for incomprehensible
adj.
mid-14c., from Latin incomprehensibilis, from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + comprehensibilis (see comprehensible).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper