as in ineffable
beyond the power to describe
the vastness of the universe is incommunicable
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Recent Examples of incommunicable
And nothing is more isolating, more incommunicable, than the grief of a parent who has been unable to save their child’s life.
—
Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022
In a way, Tiffany’s rendering of fandom as specific and incommunicable risks undermining her premise, which has to do with the massed power of people online.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 June 2022
After more than a decade away, the author is back with Piranesi, a way to communicate the incommunicable.
—Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
What surprised me was the poetic potential of scurvy, with its awfulness and that terrible sense of isolation, when the possibility of ecstatic delights was inconceivable and incommunicable.
—National Geographic, 15 Jan. 2017
Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022
In a way, Tiffany’s rendering of fandom as specific and incommunicable risks undermining her premise, which has to do with the massed power of people online.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 28 June 2022
After more than a decade away, the author is back with Piranesi, a way to communicate the incommunicable.
—Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020
What surprised me was the poetic potential of scurvy, with its awfulness and that terrible sense of isolation, when the possibility of ecstatic delights was inconceivable and incommunicable.
—National Geographic, 15 Jan. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incommunicable
Adjective
-
Cult film audiences feel an ineffable connection to a film and to each other.—
Donald Liebenson,
IndieWire,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The film, backed (with no apparent irony) by the company of a previous ineffable tech character, arrives in theaters later this year and will supply Altman with the tech mogul’s must-have 21st century accessory of a fleeting film festival discourse.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Spurs led by as much as 20 in the fourth quarter, which is an incredible turnaround.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
No, that stuff is all incredible and very much the result of good fortune in my career.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
If everything is systematically interlinked, then life’s transcendent beauty is inextricable from its inexpressible horrors and outright silliness, like the jarring swings between slapstick and tragedy in a Wile E. Coyote cartoon.—
Jack Denton,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Instead, there were chuckles to hold back anger and carefully chosen words to express what felt inexpressible.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
For David and Tara Heidenreich, the moment their son Eli became a Steeler was nearly indescribable.—
Ross Guidotti,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
-
So Clark, for whom physical intimacy with Carol is still something of a new adventure, recommends looking out for those little indescribable, unique physical details of a person that enhance presence and attraction.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
What happens when the unspeakable happens?—
The Know,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
-
In the face of unspeakable loss, her belief in humor, hope and humanity is put to the ultimate test.—
Leo Barraclough,
Variety,
15 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Our movie tastes are determined by some indefinable electrical current of enthusiasm or joy or deep, radiating sadness, or some combination of the three.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Of course, beauty is subject to taste and culture and all sorts of indefinable things.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Stripped of orchestral arrangement, the emotion in Ross’s voice provokes that unutterable connection that makes singer and listener one in a desire to act in the present for the present.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Dec. 2025
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Two high voices — LACO features soprano Amanda Forsythe and countertenor John Holiday — intertwine with the orchestra turning this hymn to the Virgin Mary’s suffering into unutterable sweetness and treating death as life’s engenderment.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2024
Adjective
-
This complex of Mayan vestiges serves as a testament to the mysterious and unexplainable engineering feats of this ancient civilization.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Apr. 2026
-
What begins as a practical solution soon spirals into paranoia when bizarre occurrences — mysterious lights, missing animals and glimpses of unexplainable technology — coincide with the days leading up to a Presidential visit.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incommunicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incommunicable. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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