imponderable

From im- +‎ ponderable.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɒndəɹəbl/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɑːndəɹəbl/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

imponderable (comparative more imponderable, superlative most imponderable)

1. Not ponderable; without sensible or appreciable weight; incapable of being weighed.
2. Difficult or impossible to comprehend or evaluate.

imponderable (plural imponderables)

1. (physics) A substance or body, which is not ponderable, i.e., which not does not having a detectable amount of matter or measurable mass. An imponderable substance or body; specifically, in the plural, a name formerly applied to heat, light, electricity, and magnetism.
2. An imponderable question.
3. A factor that cannot be anticipated.
   • 2024 July 10, Christian Wolmar, “The future of the rail franchises is certainly uncertain”, in RAIL, number 1013, page 50:

     One key imponderable is the attitude of the companies that will no longer have a role in the business. It is worth noting here that several have already thrown the towel in or been gently pushed out, such as Stagecoach and National Express.

• “imponderable”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “imponderable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

imponderable m or f (masculine and feminine plural imponderables)

1. imponderable

• “imponderable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10