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unexplainable

unexplainable

19 7.0
Something people cannot understand or find a clear reason for
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnɪkˈspleɪnəbl/
translation icon : inexplicable
  • Their need to believe in something that's unexplainable in order to make their lives more bearable.

Do you know that is so unexplainable that nothing else matters?

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Examples

  • Have you noticed there is a certain unexplainable malice in human beings?

    Fiction book (1990)
  • These are magical, unexplainable matters, and I beg you not to make me a part of them.

  • Something unexplainable is happening to me, Max.

  • You have to remember that back in those days, any unexplainable event was met with a religious explanation.

  • We are looking at an unexplainable phenomenon.

  • You are interested in the unknown, the mysterious, the unexplainable... that is why you are here.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The feeling that rushes over me when I'm near him is unexplainable.

  • When I tell you, Shannon, it's a love that is unexplainable and unimaginable.

  • She brought us here to investigate some house that she already thought was haunted, and now miraculously all these unexplainable things start happening to her.

  • The scientist could not provide a clear explanation for the unexplainable data they collected during the experiment.

Synonyms

unintelligible
vsunexplainable
8.6

Not clear enough to understand

also covers cases that cannot be justified or made reasonable
mysterious
vsunexplainable
498 5.1

Hard to understand or explain because it seems strange

often implies unknown origins or hidden causes beyond mere lack of understanding
inexplicable
vsunexplainable
47 7.8

Hard to explain or understand

emphasizes inability to be justified or understood beyond mere mystery
incomprehensible
vsunexplainable
46 8.8

Difficult or impossible to understand

also stresses that it cannot be justified or supported
puzzling
vsunexplainable
42 4.6

Hard to understand or explain

is more about being unjustifiable or without clear reason rather than curious oddness
enigmatic
vsunexplainable
27 8.1

Hard to understand and often seems mysterious

is used for things that also cannot be justified or clearly understood
baffling
vsunexplainable
27 6.4

Hard to understand and causing confusion

tends to stress the inability to be justified or made reasonable
unfathomable
vsunexplainable
23 8.6

Very hard to understand or measure how deep something is

focuses on lack of justification or reason rather than just deep complexity
unknowable
vsunexplainable
19 7.4

Something you cannot find out or understand

connotes that a matter cannot be justified or proven, not merely unknown
impenetrable
vsunexplainable
14 8.3

Very hard to understand

adds that such things often cannot be justified or given a rational cause
inscrutable
vsunexplainable
12 8.9

Hard to understand because it shows no clear meaning or feeling

leans more toward being unjustifiable or without clear reason than mere opacity
indefinable
vsunexplainable
4 6.9

Hard to describe or explain in words

focuses more on lacking justification or rational basis than on description limits
unaccountable
vsunexplainable
1 7.4

Hard to explain or understand

is used when the situation also cannot be justified or understood
uninterpretable
vsunexplainable
1 8.2

Not possible to understand or explain

focuses on lack of justification or reason beyond failed interpretation
ungraspable
vsunexplainable
1 8.6

Difficult to understand even after thinking about it

is stronger stressing lack of justification or reason as well as poor grasp
enigmatical
vsunexplainable
1 9.3

Hard to understand, like a puzzle

is similar but often stresses the lack of justifying reason rather than tone
inapprehensible
vsunexplainable
9.9

Hard to understand or explain

puts more weight on lack of justification than on mere difficulty grasping
uncomprehensible
vsunexplainable
  • Informal
9.9

Very hard to understand

shares meaning but is the standard term used in formal writing
unascertainable
vsunexplainable
9.8

Not possible to find out for certain

is less about being unknowable and more about lacking justifying reasons or support
incognoscible
vsunexplainable
  • Archaic
9.9

Not possible for people to know or understand

leans more toward lacking justification or reason rather than only being unknowable

Antonyms

Easy to understand

7 3.8

Easy to understand

How Explainable

clear
1.0
unexplainable
19 7.0
mysterious
498 5.1
puzzling
42 4.6

Surface Forms

unexplainable positive

Morphology

unexplainable = explainable (transparent) = un + explain + able

The meaning is clearly derived by adding the prefix 'un-' to 'explainable', indicating the negation of the ability to be explained.

Etymology

Unexplainable breaks into un- 'not', explain 'make clear', and -able 'able to'. So, something unexplainable is like a locked box you cannot open — you cannot make it clear or find a reason for it.