indescribable

in·de·scri·ba·ble
I1N1D2E1S1C3R1I1B3A1B3L1E1
/ɪndɪˈskɹaɪbəbl̩/

adjective

Impossible (or very difficult) to describe.

“He proved it with indescribable mathematics.”

Less commonScrabble 20

Meanings

adjectiveindescribable (comparative more indescribable, superlative most indescribable)

comparative more indescribable · superlative most indescribable

  1. Impossible (or very difficult) to describe.

    He proved it with indescribable mathematics.

    3 more examples

    The beauty and brilliancy of this insect are indescribable, and none but a naturalist can understand the intense excitement I experienced when I at length captured it.

    1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co.

    Presently the men set up the melancholy little chant that I had heard on the first night when we were captured in the whaleboat, and the effect produced by their voices was very curious, and quite indescribable.

    1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC

    But there was also about him an indescribable air which no mechanic could have acquired in the practice of his handicraft however dishonestly exercised: [...] the air of moral nihilism common to keepers of gambling hells and disorderly houses; [...]

    1906 January–October, Joseph Conrad, chapter II, in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale (Collection of British Authors; 3995), copyright edition, London: Bernhard Tauchnitz, published 1907, →OCLC, page 15
  2. Exceeding all description.

    Our hotel had an indescribable view of the Bay of Naples.

    1 more example

    The time was when, had such an idea entered her mind, it would have been torture indescribable and agony the most intense; but then, subdued as was the usual warmth of her temperament, an awful suspension seemed to hold her feelings in control.

    1838, [Letitia Elizabeth] Landon (indicated as editor), chapter XIV, in Duty and Inclination: […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 182

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Translations

Ancient Greek ἀνεκδιήγητος
  • ἀνεκδιήγητος (anekdiḗgētos)impossible, or very difficult to describe
Bulgarian неописуем
  • неописуем (neopisuem)impossible, or very difficult to describe
Catalan indescriptible, indescriptible
  • indescriptibleimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • indescriptibleexceeding all description
Chinese Mandarin 無法形容 /无法形容, 不可名狀 /不可名状
  • 無法形容 /无法形容 (wúfǎ xíngróng)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • 不可名狀 /不可名状 (bùkěmíngzhuàng)impossible, or very difficult to describe
Czech nepopsatelný, nepopsatelný
  • nepopsatelnýimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • nepopsatelnýexceeding all description
Dutch onbeschrijfelijk, onbeschrijfelijk
  • onbeschrijfelijkimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • onbeschrijfelijkexceeding all description
Esperanto nepriskribebla
  • nepriskribeblaimpossible, or very difficult to describe
Finnish sanoin kuvaamaton, kuvaamaton
  • sanoin kuvaamatonimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • kuvaamatonimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • sanoin kuvaamatonexceeding all description
  • kuvaamatonexceeding all description
French indescriptible, indescriptible
  • indescriptibleimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • indescriptibleexceeding all description
German unbeschreiblich, unbeschreiblich
  • unbeschreiblichimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • unbeschreiblichexceeding all description
Greek ανεκδιήγητος, απερίγραπτος
  • ανεκδιήγητος (anekdiígitos)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • απερίγραπτος (aperígraptos)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • αχαρακτήριστος (acharaktíristos)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • αδιήγητος (adiígitos)impossible, or very difficult to describe
Japanese 言い表わせない
  • 言い表わせない (iiarawasenai)impossible, or very difficult to describe
Latin inēnarrābilis
  • inēnarrābilisimpossible, or very difficult to describe
Norwegian Bokmål ubeskrivelig
  • ubeskriveligimpossible, or very difficult to describe
Polish nieopisany, nieopisywalny
  • nieopisanyimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • nieopisywalnyexceeding all description
Portuguese indescritível, indescritível
  • indescritívelimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • indescritívelexceeding all description
Romanian indescriptibil, inexprimabil
  • indescriptibilimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • inexprimabilimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • de nedescrisimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • indescriptibilexceeding all description
Russian неопису́емый, несказа́нный
  • неопису́емый (neopisújemyj)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • несказа́нный (neskazánnyj)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • невырази́мый (nevyrazímyj)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • неопису́емый (neopisújemyj)exceeding all description
Slovak neopísateľný
  • neopísateľnýimpossible, or very difficult to describe
Spanish indescriptible
  • indescriptibleimpossible, or very difficult to describe
Swedish obeskrivlig
  • obeskrivligimpossible, or very difficult to describe
Turkish tarifsiz, tarif edilemez
  • tarifsizimpossible, or very difficult to describe
  • tarif edilemezimpossible, or very difficult to describe
Ukrainian неопи́саний, невимо́вний
  • неопи́саний (neopýsanyj)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • невимо́вний (nevymóvnyj)impossible, or very difficult to describe
  • несказа́нний (neskazánnyj)impossible, or very difficult to describe
Cite this entry
APA

indescribable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indescribable

MLA

“indescribable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indescribable. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “indescribable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indescribable.

Source: indescribable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.