impenetrable

Examples

• All

• Most of what we hear on the subject veers between impenetrable academic papers and gee-whiz enthusiasm.

  Academic text (2011)

• Ever since then I was fascinated by this incredible language, but to an outsider it seems to be as impenetrable as the Great Wall of China.

• That you can come up with solutions to previously impenetrable problems.

• Some of this stuff is just impenetrable and really difficult to move through.

  Chimpanzee (2012)

• And as a consequence, you are able to define solutions to previously impenetrable problems.

• It is completely impenetrable to the outside world.

  Ali G Indahouse (2002)

• The $1.5 trillion federal budget is impenetrable even to seasoned lawmakers.

  Academic text (1994)

• Human relations have been enriched by subtleties impenetrable to a foreign ear.

  Fiction book (1993)

• The instructions for assembling the furniture were completely impenetrable, leaving us confused and frustrated.

• Her explanation of the complex theory was so impenetrable that none of us could understand it.

Synonyms

U

unintelligible

vsimpenetrable

∞ 8.6

Not clear enough to understand

is the same extreme difficulty described with a different word

I

incomprehensible

vsimpenetrable

46 8.8

Difficult or impossible to understand

is the same idea expressed using a different word

U

unfathomable

vsimpenetrable

23 8.6

Very hard to understand or measure how deep something is

stresses extreme difficulty to understand without implying depth

U

unexplainable

vsimpenetrable

19 7.0

Something people cannot understand or find a clear reason for

describes extreme inability to be understood more generally rather than lack of explanation

I

inscrutable

vsimpenetrable

12 8.9

Hard to understand because it shows no clear meaning or feeling

emphasizes sheer inability to be understood without the mysterious tone

I

indecipherable

vsimpenetrable

8 8.8

Too hard to read or understand

refers more broadly to extreme difficulty to understand, not only decoding

U

undecipherable

vsimpenetrable

1 9.1

Very hard to read or understand

is the general extreme inability to understand, beyond just reading issues

U

ungraspable

vsimpenetrable

1 8.6

Difficult to understand even after thinking about it

is about overall extreme difficulty to understand rather than only mental grasp

U

uninterpretable

vsimpenetrable

1 8.2

Not possible to understand or explain

focuses on overall extreme difficulty to understand rather than explaining causes

I

inapprehensible

vsimpenetrable

9.9

Hard to understand or explain

is the same idea but uses an alternative word form

U

uncomprehensible

vsimpenetrable

• Informal

9.9

Very hard to understand

is the standard form usually preferred in writing

I

incognizable

vsimpenetrable

• Formal

9.9

Not possible for people to know or understand

refers to being extremely hard to understand rather than not being perceived

I

incognoscible

vsimpenetrable

• Archaic

9.9

Not possible for people to know or understand

expresses general extreme difficulty to understand rather than strict unknowability

U

unscannable

vsimpenetrable

8.4

Difficult to read from a person's face or behavior

is the broader extreme difficulty to understand not limited to behavior clues

Antonyms

C

clear

∞ 1.0

Easy to understand and not confusing

C

comprehensible

11 3.7

Easy to understand

Compounds

I

impenetrable reasoning

9.9

An argument that is very hard to understand

How Understandable

clear

∞ 1.0

comprehensible

11 3.7

unclear

207 3.9

impenetrable

14 8.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology