inscrutable

[in-skroo-tuh-buhl]

adjective

1. incapable of being investigated, analyzed, or scrutinized; impenetrable.

   Synonyms: inexplicable, undiscoverable, incomprehensible, hidden
   Antonyms: comprehensible

2. not easily understood; mysterious; unfathomable.

   an inscrutable smile.

3. incapable of being seen through physically; physically impenetrable.

   the inscrutable depths of the ocean.

inscrutable

/ ɪnˈskruːtəbəl /

adjective

1. incomprehensible; mysterious or enigmatic

Other Word Forms

• inscrutability noun
• inscrutableness noun
• inscrutably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of inscrutable¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word inscrūtābilis. See in- ³, scrutable

Word History and Origins

Origin of inscrutable¹

C15: from Late Latin inscrūtābilis, from Latin _in- ¹ + scrūtārī to examine

Synonym Study

See mysterious.

Example Sentences

It was Edward Ashton, but with his thick Judge Quinzy glasses on, his expression remained inscrutable.

Read more on Literature

“It was falling to the floor, miss. I only mint to kitch it and put it on the zeet next to you while you sleeped,” he said in his inscrutable accent.

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The limits of human understanding are probed as a sacrificial figure challenges the inscrutable order of the universe.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Despite chronicling decades of István’s life, “Flesh,” through narrative omissions, leaves readers with an inscrutable protagonist they nonetheless remain deeply invested in.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

That play of masks—at once disclosing and disguising—animated Roth’s fictional alter egos, incarnations both intimate and inscrutable.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• enigmatic 
• impenetrable 
• incomprehensible 
• unfathomable 
• unintelligible