unanswerable

[uhn-an-ser-uh-buh l, -ahn-]

See more synonyms for unanswerable on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not capable of being answered; not having a known or discoverable answer: an unanswerable question.
not open to dispute or rebuttal; irrefutable; conclusive: an unanswerable proof.

Origin of unanswerable

First recorded in 1605–15; un-¹ + answerable

Related formsun·an·swer·a·ble·ness, nounun·an·swer·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for unanswerable

Contemporary Examples

Like most things Grammy-related, it is an unanswerable question.
Beyonce Gave the Best Grammy Awards Performance (And 8 More That Were Pretty Good, Too)
Kevin Fallon
January 27, 2014
The unanswerable questions my twins often ask me, such as, “Dad, why is your ear here?”
Ma Jian: How I Write
Noah Charney
June 12, 2013
This is, in some sense, an unanswerable existential question.
"Tax Breaks for Corporate Jets": The Non-Issue at the Heart of the Presidential Agenda
Megan McArdle
April 10, 2013
MacLaine, avid spiritualist and searcher, is comfortable with the unanswerable.
Shirley MacLaine on ‘Bernie,’ ‘Downton Abbey,’ and Her Lifetime Achievments
Lorenza Muñoz
April 25, 2012
They do not inspire us into unquestioning loyalty; they sadden us and provoke the unanswerable existential question: Why?
A Very Good War
Bob Kerrey
March 10, 2010

Historical Examples

Perhaps she did not wish to answer a question so unanswerable.
Thoroughbreds
W. A. Fraser
Ought he not to have felt assured that I must have unanswerable motives for all that I had done?
Lady Susan
Jane Austen
It were to be wished, that this Objection were unanswerable.
Clarissa: Preface, Hints of Prefaces, and Postscript
Samuel Richardson
I have nothing else to say; your arguments, Don Lope, are unanswerable.
Gomez Arias
Joaqun Telesforo de Trueba y Coso
But he had an alibi all the time, my child; an unanswerable alibi which he preferred to withhold.
The Snare
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for unanswerable

unanswerable

adjective

incapable of being refuted
(of a question) not admitting of any answer

Derived Formsunanswerableness, noununanswerably, 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

unanswerable

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}unanswerable

Related Words

Examples from the Web for unanswerable

Contemporary Examples

Like most things Grammy-related, it is an unanswerable question.

The unanswerable questions my twins often ask me, such as, “Dad, why is your ear here?”

This is, in some sense, an unanswerable existential question.

MacLaine, avid spiritualist and searcher, is comfortable with the unanswerable.

They do not inspire us into unquestioning loyalty; they sadden us and provoke the unanswerable existential question: Why?

Historical Examples

Perhaps she did not wish to answer a question so unanswerable.

Ought he not to have felt assured that I must have unanswerable motives for all that I had done?

It were to be wished, that this Objection were unanswerable.

I have nothing else to say; your arguments, Don Lope, are unanswerable.

But he had an alibi all the time, my child; an unanswerable alibi which he preferred to withhold.

unanswerable

Origin of unanswerable