unaccountable

[ uhn-uh-koun-tuh-buhl ]

/ ˌʌn əˈkaʊn tə bəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unaccountable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

impossible to account for; unexplained; inexplicable: The boat has an unaccountable tendency to yaw.

exempt from being called to account; not answerable: As a subordinate, he is unaccountable for errors in policy.

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Nearby words

Origin of unaccountable

First recorded in 1635–45; un-¹ + accountable

SYNONYMS FOR unaccountable

1 incomprehensible, inscrutable, mysterious, unintelligible.

2 unanswerable, irresponsible.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unaccountable ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·ac·count·a·ble·ness, un·ac·count·a·bil·i·ty, nounun·ac·count·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unaccountable

And the new channels tend to be underground, indirect, and unaccountable.
The Answer to the McCutcheon Decision Is More Big Money in Politics|Jonathan Rauch|April 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And then cue the 501(c)(4) nonprofits, which are also unaccountable and almost totally opaque, as conduits for secret giving.
The Answer to the McCutcheon Decision Is More Big Money in Politics|Jonathan Rauch|April 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Eleven unaccountable federal judges cannot make these monumental decisions in secret ex parte proceedings.
The Secret FISA Court Must Go|Jennifer Granick, Christopher Sprigman|July 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Netanyahu and Lieberman believe they are unaccountable because they have never been called to account.
How Obama Can Get Tough With Bibi|Lara Friedman|December 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST

In Iran, we see where the path of a violent and unaccountable ideology leads.
Full Text of Obama's Speech to the UN -- Update: Video Added|Justin Green|September 25, 2012|DAILY BEAST
People do strange and unaccountable things at times—generally the last people in the world who would be likely to do them.
A Frontier Mystery|Bertram Mitford
In some curious, unaccountable fashion, Little Tapin seemed to know all these by name.
Zut and Other Parisians|Guy Wetmore Carryl
But the moment she heard the shots, unaccountable, undefinable dread seized her.
Kentucky's Famous Feuds and Tragedies|Chas. G Mutzenberg
But—and this, for some unaccountable reason, she did not tell Walter—she had had an outspoken explanation with Karner.
Comrade Yetta|Albert Edwards
I should have been back before but some unaccountable inclination made me break my journey at Rouen.
The Crime Club|William Holt-White

British Dictionary definitions for unaccountable

unaccountable

/ (ˌʌnəˈkaʊntəbəl) /

adjective

allowing of no explanation; inexplicable

puzzling; extraordinaryan unaccountable fear of hamburgers

not accountable or answerable to

Derived Formsunaccountableness or unaccountability, noununaccountably, 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

Word Origin and History for unaccountable

unaccountable

adj.

1640s, "inexplicable," from un- (1) "not" + accountable. Meaning "not liable to be called to account" is recorded from 1640s. Related: Unaccountably.