inscrutable

[ in-skroo-tuh-buhl ]

See synonyms for: inscrutable inscrutability inscrutableness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

incapable of being investigated, analyzed, or scrutinized; impenetrable.
not easily understood; mysterious; unfathomable: an inscrutable smile.

incapable of being seen through physically; physically impenetrable: the inscrutable depths of the ocean.

Origin of inscrutable

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

synonym study For inscrutable

1. See mysterious.

Other words for inscrutable

1	hidden, incomprehensible, undiscoverable, inexplicable

See synonyms for inscrutable on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for inscrutable

1	comprehensible

See antonyms for inscrutable on Thesaurus.com

Other words from inscrutable

in·scru·ta·bil·i·ty, in·scru·ta·ble·ness, noun
in·scru·ta·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use inscrutable in a sentence

The lawsuit underscores the complex legal and financial gears nudging tenants toward eviction while remaining inscrutable to most renters.
Eviction is big business for this law firm. Tenants say it buries them with unfair fees. | Kyle Swenson | February 18, 2021 | Washington Post
The additional operating system variant, coupled with the inscrutable instructions, create a formula for confusion that benefits no one.
Microsoft's Pint-Sized Surface Go 2 Is a Deceptively Cheap Budget Laptop | Patrick Lucas Austin | May 11, 2020 | Time
Two LEDs, one on the exterior and one visible when opened, indicate the device’s charging status via two inscrutable colors.
Google's Slick Pixel Buds Finally Give Android Users the AirPods They Deserve | Patrick Lucas Austin | May 6, 2020 | Time
He must have confessed everything back at that table when he had felt so inscrutably buoyant.
Bunker Bean | Harry Leon Wilson
She must know that he couldn't explain his invasion of her house through that inscrutably closed door.
The Rest Hollow Mystery | Rebecca N. Porter

Jubal Clenk dropped on one knee in front of the little boy, and the two were inscrutably eyeing each other at close quarters.
The Ordeal | Charles Egbert Craddock
Then abruptly he turned to his brother who was listening inscrutably on the other side of the table.
The Lamp in the Desert | Ethel M. Dell
Raffles stared at me inscrutably for some moments, and for some more at the great white numbers over the grand-stand.
A Thief in the Night | E. W. Hornung

British Dictionary definitions for inscrutable

inscrutable

/ (ɪnˈskruːtəbəl) /

adjective

incomprehensible; mysterious or enigmatic

Origin of inscrutable

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

Derived forms of inscrutable

inscrutability or inscrutableness, noun
inscrutably, adverb

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

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