incomprehensible

American  

[in-kom-pri-hen-suh-buhl, in-kom-] / ˌɪn kɒm prɪˈhɛn sə bəl, ɪnˌkɒm- /

adjective

1. impossible to understand or comprehend; unintelligible.

   Synonyms:

   obscure, bewildering, baffling

2. Archaic. limitless; not limited or capable of being limited.

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incomprehensible British  

/ ɪnˌkɒm-, ˌɪnkɒmprɪˈhɛnsəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being understood; unintelligible

2. archaic limitless; boundless

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Other Word Forms

• incomprehensibility noun
• incomprehensibleness noun
• incomprehensibly adverb
• superincomprehensible adjective
• superincomprehensibleness noun
• superincomprehensibly adverb

Etymology

Origin of incomprehensible

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word incomprehēnsibilis. See in- ³, comprehensible

Example Sentences

Art—crude or cruel, adolescent or arch—is supposed to make comprehensible the incomprehensible.

From The Wall Street Journal

He called the loss of Catherine O’Hara “incomprehensible.”

From Salon

Appalled by the incomprehensible waste—Hiroshima was still weeks away—he searched for precedent in myth and antiquity, alighting at once on the North African city of Carthage.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wingtech representatives responded that the Dutch intervention was "incomprehensible" and meant the row "degenerated needlessly".

From Barron's

The artificial-intelligence investment theme can include a lot of hype about demand, colorful language about the future of work, incomprehensible descriptions of computing power, and technical jargon that would test even the nerdiest of experts.

From Barron's

Related Words

• baffling
• impenetrable
• inconceivable
• mystifying
• opaque
• puzzling
• unfathomable
• unimaginable
• unintelligible