Meanings
comparative more indescribable · superlative most indescribable
- 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, →OCLCBut 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 - 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
adjectivedefying expression or description
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
indescribable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indescribable
“indescribable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indescribable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “indescribable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indescribable.
Source: indescribable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.