inconceivable
46
7.4
- adjective
- /ˌɪnkənˈsiːvəbl/
:
inconcebible
- It is inconceivable that we who advanced it should go back on our word.
- seems inconceivable
- almost inconceivable
- simply inconceivable
And it's it's inconceivable that the American public is now outraged about it.
- And it's it's inconceivable that the American public is now outraged about it.
- The objects which are given us by experience are in many respects inconceivable, right?
- So it's in my mind it's practically inconceivable that we're the only conscious form of life in the universe.
- That might be true, but it's going to be weird how it is true in order to make this inconceivable thesis more easily understood.
- Now, once it was considered inconceivable.
- But if he's not it, it's almost inconceivable for him to see that there's DJ.
- But I, I'm just glad that you brought up this example because I think that for a lot of people it's, it's inconceivable.
Examples
-
Indeed, military actions with the level of killing of World War II seem inconceivable today.
Academic text (2000) -
Now it is not inconceivable that this facility may have leaked some radioactive material.
-
OK, but is it really inconceivable how small they are?
-
That would have been inconceivable in this world now.
-
If the United Kingdom could act this way, it was no longer inconceivable that the United States might, too.
Academic text (2012) -
Things that frankly seemed close to inconceivable happened.
-
An international economy, hence, is inconceivable in the context of international anarchy.
Academic text (1996) -
Such a multidecade commitment, even under peaceful conditions, is inconceivable in the xenophobic and violent atmosphere of the Middle East.
Academic text (2008) -
For many Indians, however, it is literally inconceivable that one person's illness can be causally connected to another's.
Academic text (1997) -
It is inconceivable that anyone would refuse such a generous offer.
Synonyms
∞
3.5
Very surprising or hard to believe
∞
1.4
Not able to happen or be done
432
4.9
Very surprising and almost impossible to accept as true
89
5.7
Impossible to imagine or accept as an option
63
5.4
So strange or large that people cannot believe it
26
7.0
Not likely to be true or hard to believe
Too hard or unpleasant to accept
Antonyms
How Imaginable
Surface Forms
Morphology
inconceivable = conceivable (semi-transparent) = in + conceive + able
Adding the negative prefix 'in-' to 'conceivable' straightforwardly gives the meaning 'not conceivable'.
Etymology
The word inconceivable breaks into in- 'not' and conceive 'to form an idea', so it literally means 'not able to be formed in the mind'. That's why something inconceivable is impossible to imagine or believe.