unsayable

British

/ ʌnˈseɪəbəl /

adjective

too insulting, indecent, etc, to be said

"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

noun

to express an opinion thought to be too controversial to mention

"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

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.

So what would insiders - both current and former - put on their list of issues that are still unsayable for this new government?

From BBC

Now, the new government has been pushed to do something unpalatable - early releases on a big scale - because the unsayable went unsaid.

From BBC

Even if it means saying what was previously unsayable.

From BBC

There are clear consequences of ignoring an unsayable.

From BBC

Their approach, to say the unsayable and risk sanction is nothing new.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023