inexplicable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inexplicable
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Latin word inexplicābilis. See in- 3, explicable
Explanation
Something inexplicable can't be explained. It doesn't make sense. You don't want to come to the beach on the most beautiful day of the year? That's inexplicable! Inexplicable is made up of the prefix in, which means "not," and explicable, which comes from the Latin explicabilis, meaning "unfolded, unraveled." Do you see the double negative? If something is not unfolded, it's folded up and tangled — like something that doesn't make sense. Your school's decision to call a snow day is inexplicable, if there's barely a layer of snow on the ground.
Vocabulary lists containing inexplicable
A Christmas Carol
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List 5
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The Scarlet Letter
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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.
The second I turned 50, I just felt an inexplicable comfort in my own skin that I never felt before.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
“She did something so economically irrational and inexplicable that it would make no sense other than when understood in the context of defendants’ scheme,” the filing stated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
Judge Huw Rees said it was "inexplicable" why someone would want to drive at such "extreme" speeds, let alone why a car would be capable of achieving those speeds.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
The senator’s own father died of a heart attack at 69 when Graham was 22 — pointing to a family history of cardiovascular disease that likely made Saturday night’s outcome tragic, but not inexplicable.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Throughout the day, except for the strange companionship of the voices, she was alone, but in some inexplicable way she felt sure that with the coming of the night her husband would be with her.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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.
