indistinguishable

[ˌɪn.dɪˈstɪŋ.ɡwɪ.ʃə.bl̩]

adjective

Not distinguishable; not capable of being perceived, known, or discriminated as separate and distinct

Less commonScrabble 24

Meanings

adjectiveindistinguishable (comparative more indistinguishable, superlative most indistinguishable)

comparative more indistinguishable · superlative most indistinguishable

  1. Not distinguishable; not capable of being perceived, known, or discriminated as separate and distinct

    Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic

    1973, Arthur C. Clarke, Profiles of the Future (revised)
    1 more example

    The banks of the old railway are now so thickly overgrown with trees as to be almost indistinguishable from the surrounding countryside, and the most obvious landmarks are the walls of a bridge over a lane, and stone bridge, still intact, where a cart road crosses the cutting, close to the site of the former Clifton South Junction.

    1950 May, M. D. Greville and G. O. Holt, “A Forgotten Junction in Westmorland”, in Railway Magazine, page 330
  2. Not capable of being perceived or known.
nounindistinguishable (plural indistinguishables)

plural indistinguishables

  1. Any of a set of things that cannot be distinguished.

Synonyms & antonyms

antonym(s) of

Opposite

antonym(s) of “not capable of being perceived”

adjectiveexactly alike; incapable of being perceived as different

adjectivenot capable of being distinguished or differentiated

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥-
  4. Latinin-
  5. Middle Englishin-
  6. Englishin-
  7. Englishdistinguish
  8. Englishdistinguishable
  9. Englishindistinguishable

From in- + distinguishable.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian неразличим
  • неразличим (nerazličim)not distinguishable
Catalan indistingible
  • indistingiblenot distinguishable
Czech nerozlišitelný
  • nerozlišitelnýnot distinguishable
Dutch ononderscheidbaar, niet te onderscheiden
  • ononderscheidbaarnot distinguishable
  • niet te onderscheidennot distinguishable
Finnish mahdoton erottaa
  • mahdoton erottaanot distinguishable
French indistinguable, indistinguible
  • indistinguablenot distinguishable
  • indistinguiblenot distinguishable
Greek πανομοιότυπος, ολόιδιος
  • πανομοιότυπος (panomoiótypos)not distinguishable
  • ολόιδιος (olóidios)not distinguishable
  • φτυστός (ftystós)not distinguishable
Hungarian megkülönböztethetetlen
  • megkülönböztethetetlennot distinguishable
Polish nieodróżnialny
  • nieodróżnialnynot distinguishable
Portuguese indistinguível
  • indistinguívelnot distinguishable
Romanian indistingibil, nedistingibil
  • indistingibilnot distinguishable
  • nedistingibilnot distinguishable
Russian неразличи́мый
  • неразличи́мый (nerazličímyj)not distinguishable
Spanish indistinguible
  • indistinguiblenot distinguishable
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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