incommunicable

adjective

in·​com·​mu·​ni·​ca·​ble ˌin-kə-ˈmyü-ni-kə-bəl How to pronounce incommunicable (audio)
: not communicable: such as
b
: incapable of being communicated or imparted
incommunicability noun
incommunicably adverb

Examples of incommunicable in a Sentence

the vastness of the universe is incommunicable
Recent Examples on the Web Piranesi is a mystery, a mystery of the mind, a way for Clarke to communicate the incommunicable. Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020 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 Abstract artists, including Alberto Burri, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Jack Whitten and Mark Bradford, all found unique ways to use such materials to conjure the weight of incommunicable things. Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2021 After more than a decade away, the author is back with Piranesi, a way to communicate the incommunicable. Jason Kehe, Wired, 21 Sep. 2020 But the works test, in the depths of the incommunicable, the degree of anyone’s courage to envisage the bad in life, the worse, and the almost inconceivably abysmal. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2020 In one panel, Mary, at the foot of the cross, makes a recognizable gesture — suggesting grief or astonishment so great, so fundamentally incommunicable, that one covers one’s mouth — similar to that made by Matisse’s central bather. Washington Post, 26 Feb. 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

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incommunicable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French, from Late Latin incommunicabilis, from Latin in- + Late Latin communicabilis communicable

First Known Use

1568, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of incommunicable was in 1568

Dictionary Entries Near incommunicable

Cite this Entry

“Incommunicable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incommunicable. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

incommunicable

adjective
in·​com·​mu·​ni·​ca·​ble ˌin-kə-ˈmyü-ni-kə-bəl How to pronounce incommunicable (audio)
: not capable of being communicated
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