inconceivable
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- inconceivability noun
- inconceivableness noun
- inconceivably adverb
Etymology
Origin of inconceivable
First recorded in 1625–35; in- 3 + conceivable
Explanation
If something is inconceivable, it doesn’t seem possible, it’s hard to imagine, or it can’t be true. It might seem inconceivable that a society would choose to pay bankers more than teachers, but it’s true. When an idea or event is inconceivable, it's so outlandish, amazing, or horrible that it’s hard to believe. The horrible acts committed by the Nazis during the Holocaust are inconceivable on many levels, yet we know they occurred. Some things are inconceivable because they really wouldn't happen — for example, it's inconceivable that you would actually eat your hat.
Vocabulary lists containing inconceivable
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 2
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List 3
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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.
“Given the volatility around earnings, it’s not inconceivable that there is a period of relative strength for technology,” Hackett said.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 21, 2026
Dr Fiona Hunter, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine for Scotland, said delayed discharge resulted in "an almost inconceivable amount of wasted resources".
From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026
Alibaba ADRs remain priced around $150—up 0.5% in Monday’s premarket—which is just half of the late-2020 high, but a price level that may have been inconceivable in 2022, for instance, when it traded near $60.
From Barron's • Dec. 22, 2025
And it all began with a movie that was, to everyone but Rob Reiner, inconceivable.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025
A man who is vulnerable, who has suffered in an inconceivable way.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
