indefinable

American  

[in-di-fahy-nuh-buhl] / ˌɪn dɪˈfaɪ nə bəl /

adjective

1. not definable; not readily identified, described, analyzed, or determined.

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noun

1. something that cannot be defined.

   the indefinables of great musicianship.

indefinable British  

/ ˌɪndɪˈfaɪnəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being defined or analysed

   there was an indefinable sense of terror

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Other Word Forms

• indefinableness noun
• indefinably adverb

Etymology

Origin of indefinable

First recorded in 1800–10; in- ³ + definable ( def. )

Example Sentences

It expresses a general anxiety the prompt of which is indefinable, a nagging sense that has no singularly compelling explanation.

From Salon • Dec. 27, 2024

A recent New Yorker profile of Jeremy Strong seemed determined to find eccentricity in the actor’s dedication to craft, just as so many people with public platforms voiced their often indefinable irritation with Hathaway’s.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2022

The crushing of the belief that the Seattle ballclub, by dint of some indefinable flaw in their DNA, would always wilt and wither in crunchtime.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 1, 2022

And there is plenty of beauty in the play’s abstractions; at its heart “Epiphany” is a love letter to the indefinable and unnameable.

From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2022

There was a new quiet feeling and an indefinable smell, new and faintly fragrant.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith