unthinkable
Americanadjective
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inconceivable; unimaginable.
the unthinkable size of the universe.
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not to be considered; out of the question.
Such a suggestion is unthinkable.
noun
-
unthinkables
plural
adjective
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not to be contemplated; out of the question
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unimaginable; inconceivable
-
unreasonable; improbable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of unthinkable
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at un- 1, thinkable
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.
That would have been unthinkable a decade ago.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026
PORTLAND, Ore.—The rental market here is so depressed that something almost unthinkable is now commonplace: Six-figure earners are paying some of the same rents as lower-income residents who qualify for subsidized housing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Such a sophisticated effort would have been unthinkable for a private-label brand not long ago.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Quite possibly the best 16-year-old in the world, it is not unthinkable that he could earn his way into England's Euro 2028 thinking.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
If the unthinkable could happen, if your family could vanish in a moment, why couldn’t a sculpture of a screecher come to life?
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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.
