inconceivable
[in-kuh n-see-vuh-buh l]
- not conceivable; unimaginable; unthinkable
- unbelievable; incredible.
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Origin of inconceivable
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
unimaginableincredibleimprobableunbelievableunheard-ofstrangemind-bogglingimplausibleimpossibleextraordinaryunthinkablefantasticphonyrarestaggeringthinunconvincingunlikelyunsubstantialweakExamples from the Web for inconceivable
Contemporary Examples
Or—just as inconceivable and absurd—sentencing entire generations of North Korean families to labor camps.
This spring, the protests of the last few days were inconceivable.
We have to shorten the distance between inevitable and inconceivable.
On Thursday, a nuclear exchange was, at least for most people, inconceivable.
For a small and fledgling army, open revolution was inconceivable.
Historical Examples
What other motive they can have, is to us, at least, inconceivable.
In reality they were jealous of each other with an inconceivable intensity.
Camps, Quarters and Casual PlacesArchibald Forbes
There is no action of our soul on our body; that would be inconceivable.
Initiation into PhilosophyEmile Faguet
That one man had lived, escaped the net—it was inconceivable!
The crew of the Avenger is an inconceivable ship's complement for any pirate.
The Pirate and The Three CuttersFrederick Marryat
inconceivable
- incapable of being conceived, imagined, or considered
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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 inconceivable
adj.
1630s, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + conceivable. Related: Inconcievably. An Old English word for this was unasmeagendlic.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper