impenetrable
3
7.0
- adjective
- /ɪmˈpɛnɪtrəbl/
:
impenetrable
- The sixteen acres of dense Rhododendron maximum shrubs would be an impenetrable thicket if it were not for the tunnel-like trail carved through it.
- an impenetrable thicket
- almost impenetrable
And yet there is this impenetrable darkness deep, deep inside that.
- And yet there is this impenetrable darkness deep, deep inside that.
Examples
-
I climb a granite slope to another impenetrable maze of interlaced branches, but through them I see tantalizing glimpses of pink granite.
Academic text (2007) -
My eyes had not yet accustomed themselves to the impenetrable darkness.
Fiction book (1990) -
Just wondering what thoughts lie behind those two impenetrable windows.
-
Only his black eyes burned dark and impenetrable.
Fiction book (1990) -
An impenetrable bubble would appear, covering a small town, a few square blocks in a larger one.
Fiction book (2001) -
An intricate pattern so dense it looks like a solid, impenetrable wall of light.
Fiction book (1995) -
Water, cold and deep, impenetrable as ink, stretching to all horizons, with no possible escape.
Fiction book (1992) -
Above was an impenetrable thundercloud outstretched beyond the hills.
-
The spruces grew straight and tightly spaced over a dark and impenetrable growth of white rhododendron.
Academic text (1990) -
The forest was so dense that light could barely penetrate the impenetrable thicket of trees.
Synonyms
585
1.0
Having a large distance between two sides and often very dense
28
7.5
Not letting water pass through and not changed by words
28
3.9
Thick so that little light can pass through
4
6.6
Not allowing water or air to pass through
1
4.7
An object that does not let light pass
1
6.8
Not letting light pass through
Not letting light pass through
Not letting light pass through so you cannot see through it
Antonyms
Compounds
How Transparent
Surface Forms
Morphology
impenetrable = penetrable (transparent) = im + penetrate + able
This is a straightforward negative formation meaning 'not able to be penetrated'.
Etymology
Impenetrable comes from im- 'not' and penetrate 'to go into'; imagine a blackout curtain that light cannot pass through. So impenetrable can describe something so dense that no light or view gets through it.