unaccountable
Americanadjective
-
impossible to account for; unexplained; inexplicable.
The boat has an unaccountable tendency to yaw.
- Synonyms:
- unintelligible, mysterious, inscrutable, incomprehensible
-
exempt from being called to account; not answerable.
As a subordinate, he is unaccountable for errors in policy.
- Synonyms:
- irresponsible, unanswerable
adjective
-
allowing of no explanation; inexplicable
-
puzzling; extraordinary
an unaccountable fear of hamburgers
-
not accountable or answerable to
Other Word Forms
- unaccountability noun
- unaccountableness noun
- unaccountably adverb
Etymology
Origin of unaccountable
First recorded in 1635–45; un- 1 + accountable
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.
Critics say it shifts financial control away from politicians and into the hands of unaccountable arbitrators, which could lead to bloated labor costs.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2026
Yet here, a single unaccountable administrator effectively outlawed an entire way of life for responsible therapists, guides and small businesses in Hawaii.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 10, 2025
This discrepancy in power between employer and employee allows the boss to be almost entirely unaccountable for their decisions — decisions that have a direct impact on the livelihoods of everyone employed in an enterprise.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2025
They’re not wildly unaccountable, they are a part of the government.
From Slate • Feb. 21, 2025
I had a sudden unaccountable desire to run.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
