Inexplicable

//ˌɪn.ɪkˈsplɪ.kə.bl̩// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Something that is impossible to explain.

    "HEE [Cleanthes] left behind him (ſaith [Diogenes] Laertius) theſe excellent Books. […] Of Inexplicables."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Impossible to explain; not easily accounted for.

    "The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten."

Adjective
  1. 1
    incapable of being explained or accounted for wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
inscrutableinsolubleunaccountableunexplainableabstruseaimless

Example

More examples

"Poetry is a search for the inexplicable."

Etymology

From Middle English inexplicable, from Middle French inexplicable, from Latin inexplicābilis, from in- (“not”) + explicābilis (“explicable”). By surface analysis, in- + explicable.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.