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inexplicable. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
inexplicable, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
inexplicable in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
inexplicable you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English inexplicable, from Middle French inexplicable, from Latin inexplicābilis, from in- (“not”) + explicābilis (“explicable”). By surface analysis, in- + explicable.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌɪn.ɪkˈsplɪ.kə.bl̩/, /ɪnˈɛk.splɪ.kə.bəl/
Adjective
inexplicable (comparative more inexplicable, superlative most inexplicable)
- Impossible to explain; not easily accounted for.
- Synonyms: inexplainable, unexplainable, insoluble; see also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
- Antonyms: explicable; see also Thesaurus:comprehensible
1873, Jules Verne, chapter I, in , transl., Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas; , James R. Osgood edition, Boston, Mass.: Geo M Smith & Co., →OCLC, part I, page 3:The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten.
1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 106:“No,” replied the girl, “it would not be strange, of course; but for some inexplicable reason I have one of those foolish feminine presentiments that all is not right with Mr. Caldwell. It is the strangest feeling—it is as though I knew that he was not on board the ship.”
Derived terms
Translations
impossible to explain
- Albanian: i pashpjegueshëm (sq)
- Armenian: please add this translation if you can
- Asturian: inesplicable
- Belarusian: невытлумача́льны (njevytlumačálʹny)
- Bulgarian: необясни́м (bg) (neobjasním)
- Catalan: inexplicable (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 不能說明的 / 不能说明的 (bùnéng shuōmíng de)
- Czech: nevysvětlitelný (cs)
- Danish: uforklarlig
- Dutch: onverklaarbaar (nl)
- Esperanto: neklarigebla
- Finnish: selittämätön, käsittämätön (fi)
- French: inexplicable (fr)
- Galician: inexplicable (gl), inexplicábel (gl)
- German: unerklärlich (de)
- Greek: ανεξήγητος (el) (anexígitos)
- Ancient: δύσφραστος (dúsphrastos)
- Hungarian: megmagyarázhatatlan (hu)
- Icelandic: óútskýranlegur
- Italian: inspiegabile (it), incomprensibile (it), inesplicabile (it)
- Japanese: 割り切れない (わりきれない, warikirenai), 不可解な (ja) (ふかかいな, fukakai na), 説明がつかない (ja) (せつめいがつかない, setsumei ga tsukanai)
- Korean: 불가해하다 (bulgahaehada), 설명할 수 없다 (seolmyeonghal su eopda)
- Latin: inēnōdābilis
- Lithuanian: nesuprantamas
- Macedonian: необјаснив (neobjasniv)
- Manx: neuhoilsheydagh, neureaghee
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: uforklarlig
- Nynorsk: uforklarleg, uforklårleg
- Occitan: inexplicable (oc)
- Old English: unāreccendlīċ
- Polish: niewytłumaczalny (pl)
- Portuguese: inexplicável (pt)
- Romanian: inexplicabil (ro), neexplicabil
- Russian: необъясни́мый (ru) (neobʺjasnímyj)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: необја̀шњив
- Roman: neobjàšnjiv (sh)
- Slovak: nevysvetliteľný
- Slovene: nerazložljiv
- Spanish: inexplicable
- Swedish: oförklarlig (sv)
- Thai: ที่อธิบายไม่ได้ (tîi à-tí-baai mâi-dâi)
- Turkish: açıklanamaz
- Ukrainian: непоясни́мий (nepojasnýmyj), непоясне́нний (nepojasnénnyj)
- Welsh: anesboniadwy (cy)
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Noun
inexplicable (plural inexplicables)
- Something that is inexplicable.
- Synonym: inexplicability
1656, Tho Stanley, “ Chap III. His Writings.”, in The History of Philosophy, the Second Volume, volume II, London: Humphrey Moseley, and Thomas Dring: , →OCLC, 8th part (Containing the Stoick Philosophers), pages 127–128:HEE left behind him (ſaith Laertius) theſe excellent Books. Of Inexplicables.
2000, Wally Phillips, “Foreword”, in Vicki Quade, I Remember Bob Collins, Champaign, Ill.: Bannon Multimedia Group, →ISBN, page vi:The premature passing of Bob Collins and the sadness it begets leave us in wonder. A man of vigor and vitality, compassion and concern, and a joyous contributor enhancing each new day is suddenly no more. Or is that also conjecture or gospel? Could it be that his departure is but a chapter in the imponderable mystery we long to comprehend? An inexplicable that cannot be perceived?
2001, Ann Zwinger, “Fall Colors, Gifts of Glory”, in Anthony Eaton Cook, Fall Colors across North America, Portland, Ore.: Graphic Arts Center Publishing, →ISBN, page 30:Each clone acts as a huge, undivided tree, with its own time of flushing spring leaves, of turning yellow, and its own shade of yellow that can vary from lemon to salmon to an occasional sandy red, the color change defining the margins of each clone. The contrasting colors depend on variations in soil chemistry, slope exposure, genetic makeup, and a grab bag of inexplicables that bless trees, growing so closely that their upper branches may touch, with smartly different colors.
2001, Salman Rushdie, chapter 1, in Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 10:Her proposition was that at the heart of each of the great tragedies were unanswerable questions about love, and, to make sense of the plays, we must each attempt to explicate these inexplicables in our own way.
References
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin inexplicābilis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
inexplicable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inexplicables)
- inexplicable
- Antonym: explicable
Derived terms
Further reading
- “inexplicable”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies , 2007 April
- “inexplicable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.
- “inexplicable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “inexplicable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology
From Latin inexplicābilis. By surface analysis, in- + explicable.
Pronunciation
Adjective
inexplicable (plural inexplicables)
- inexplicable, unexplainable
- Antonym: explicable
Derived terms
Further reading
Galician
Etymology
From Latin inexplicābilis.
Pronunciation
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This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!
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Adjective
inexplicable m or f (plural inexplicables)
- inexplicable, unexplainable
- Antonym: explicable
Derived terms
Further reading
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin inexplicābilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ineɡspliˈkable/
- Rhymes: -able
- Syllabification: i‧nex‧pli‧ca‧ble
Adjective
inexplicable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inexplicables)
- inexplicable, unexplainable
- Antonym: explicable
Derived terms
Further reading