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inapprehensible

inapprehensible

9.9
Hard for people to catch
  • adjective
  • /ˌɪnˌæprɪˈhɛnsəbl/
translation icon : inaprehensible
  • The thief proved inapprehensible despite the police's best efforts to track him down.

Examples

  • For years, the mysterious hacker remained inapprehensible to authorities around the world.

  • The rare bird was so quick and clever that it seemed almost inapprehensible to researchers.

  • The thief was inapprehensible despite the police search.

  • Why is the suspect still inapprehensible to the authorities?

  • The thief proved inapprehensible despite the police's best efforts to track him down.

  • For years, the mysterious hacker remained inapprehensible to authorities around the world.

  • The rare bird was so quick and clever that it seemed almost inapprehensible to researchers.

Synonyms

inaccessible
vsinapprehensible
28 7.9

Not able to be reached, used, or understood

is specifically about inability to be caught or taken into custody
untraceable
vsinapprehensible
28 6.6

Cannot be found or connected to where it started

is about being impossible to catch or take into custody physically
untouchable
vsinapprehensible
3 7.7

Too difficult for people to reach or get

applies specifically to being impossible to capture or arrest
unfindable
vsinapprehensible
1 7.1

Very hard to find

refers specifically to being impossible to take into custody
unapprehended
vsinapprehensible
  • Specialized
8.8

A person who police have not caught after a crime

means being impossible to catch or take into custody by authorities

Antonyms

1 5.5

Able to be taken by another person

How Catchable

capturable
1 5.5
catchable
1 2.9
elusive
43 7.0
inapprehensible
9.9
uncatchable
2 4.2

Surface Forms

inapprehensible positive

Morphology

inapprehensible = apprehensible (semi-transparent) = in + apprehens + ible

This sense is a straightforward negation of 'apprehensible' meaning 'able to be caught or taken into custody'.

Etymology

The word inapprehensible comes from the parts in- 'not' and apprehend 'to seize' or 'to arrest'. So inapprehensible means 'not able to be caught', which is why we use it for people or things that cannot be captured.