unaccountably
- adverb
- /ˌʌnəˈkaʊntəblɪ/
- She felt unaccountably sad after the movie ended, even though it was a comedy.
Examples
-
The iguana, Gustav, had bitten or tried to bite Melly, and this had unaccountably terrified him.
Fiction book (1997) -
The storm turned unaccountably fierce, causing everyone to rush indoors.
-
As so often since February, unaccountably he was not home.
Fiction book (1997) -
Yet the world unaccountably exists, and we as well.
Academic text (1990) -
Now her god was gone, and Mother Artemis was unaccountably gone too.
Fiction book (1998) -
The room itself, though miniature, seemed unaccountably full of space.
Fiction book (1991) -
I feel unaccountably relieved to see that he's smiling, if only slightly.
Fiction book (1997) -
But as the minutes ticked away, his musings unaccountably took a darker turn.
Fiction book (1991) -
Corinne was unaccountably moved by the thought of her long-shared life with Gertrude.
Fiction book (1998) -
After a month among the Scots of clan MacKenzie, the presence of English dragoons made me unaccountably nervous.
Fiction book (1991)
Synonyms
In a way that cannot be explained or understood
In a way that is not clear or logical
It is very hard to understand
In a way that is very hard to understand
In a way that is so great it cannot be understood or believed
In a way that people cannot understand
In a way that hides what someone feels and is hard to understand
In a way that is very confusing and hard to understand
In a way that makes something hard to understand
So unclear that people cannot read or understand it
In a way people cannot read or understand
Antonyms
How Explainable
Surface Forms
Morphology
unaccountably = unaccountable (transparent) = un + account + able + ly
Standard adverbial formation from the adjective 'unaccountable' using the productive suffix '-ly', so the step is directly predictable.
Etymology
Unaccountably comes from parts you know: un- 'not', account 'to give an explanation or report', -able 'able', and -ly 'in this way'. So, something that happens unaccountably happens 'not able to be explained' — it occurs for reasons you cannot understand.