unknowable

[uhn-noh-uh-buh l]

See more synonyms for unknowable on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not knowable; incapable of being known or understood.

noun

something that is unknowable.
the Unknowable, the postulated reality lying behind all phenomena but not cognizable by any of the processes by which the mind cognizes phenomenal objects.

Origin of unknowable

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at un-¹, knowable

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

Examples from the Web for unknowable

Contemporary Examples

X and Y could be terrible on their own, unknowable terms, and therefore incomparable.
Atheist King Richard Dawkins’ Rape Fantasy
Tim Teeman
July 31, 2014
Doug Kenney was many things to many people—funny, generous, unknowable.
Doug Kenney: The Odd Comic Genius Behind ‘Animal House’ and National Lampoon
Robert Sam Anson
March 1, 2014
The Glassless will walk around with heads ducked down, desperate to avoid the mysterious, unknowable intentions of the Glassed.
Google Glass’s Insane, Terrifying Etiquette Guide
Tim Teeman
February 20, 2014
“People are unknowable,” Hardy mutters—his last lesson for Miller.
‘Broadchurch’ Is Great TV for Fans of ‘Downton Abbey,’ ‘Doctor Who,’ and ‘Prime Suspect’
Andrew Romano
August 7, 2013
"It depends on individual risk factors, many of them unknowable in advance" -- that rule is not so easy.
Marijuana Use Isn't Worth the Risk
David Frum
January 7, 2013

Historical Examples

But a sense in which God is "unknowable" to us has to be admitted.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
But to recognise that the soul of a man is unknowable, is the ultimate achievement of wisdom.
De Profundis
Oscar Wilde
The Universe, knowable and unknowable, will it be affected a whit by it?
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
Despite Spencer, the human mind has never admitted the existence of the Unknowable.
Socialism
John Spargo
In either case, is the correct word 'unknown' or 'unknowable'?
Masters of Space
Edward Elmer Smith

British Dictionary definitions for unknowable

unknowable

adjective

incapable of being known or understood
1. beyond human understanding
2. (as noun)the unknowable

Derived Formsunknowableness or unknowability, noununknowably, adverb

Unknowable

noun

the Unknowable philosophy the ultimate reality that underlies all phenomena but cannot be known

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

unknowable

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Related Words

Examples from the Web for unknowable

Contemporary Examples

X and Y could be terrible on their own, unknowable terms, and therefore incomparable.

Doug Kenney was many things to many people—funny, generous, unknowable.

The Glassless will walk around with heads ducked down, desperate to avoid the mysterious, unknowable intentions of the Glassed.

“People are unknowable,” Hardy mutters—his last lesson for Miller.

"It depends on individual risk factors, many of them unknowable in advance" -- that rule is not so easy.

Historical Examples

But a sense in which God is "unknowable" to us has to be admitted.

But to recognise that the soul of a man is unknowable, is the ultimate achievement of wisdom.

The Universe, knowable and unknowable, will it be affected a whit by it?

Despite Spencer, the human mind has never admitted the existence of the Unknowable.

In either case, is the correct word 'unknown' or 'unknowable'?

unknowable

Unknowable

Origin of unknowable