unfathomable mystery
- noun
- /ʌnˈfæðəməbl ˈmɪstəri/
:
misterio insondable
- Despite years of research, the cause of the strange phenomenon remained an unfathomable mystery.
Examples
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The reason for creation, therefore, lies entirely in the unfathomable mystery of God, who is self-originating and self-communicating love.
Academic text (2007) -
Thoughts fly away and circle high above the notebook, repelled by the difficulty of the problem in which two unknowns terrify him with their unfathomable mystery, like two apparitions whose faces are veiled.
Fiction book (1997) -
Gee, I dunno, it's such a deep unfathomable mystery... maybe it's because so many women
Blog text (16) -
We reach out toward a reality that we cannot grasp or lay hold of, toward the absolutely transcendent, the unfathomable mystery.
Academic text (1991) -
One must continue to ask questions, even questions that science as such cannot answer, and also listen for answers that the human spirit does not provide for itself but accepts as a gift from the unfathomable mystery of God, made known to us in Jesus Christ.
Academic text (1991) -
We act as if what appeals to male readers is an unfathomable mystery, understood only by a clairvoyant few.
Academic text (2013) -
It responds to a call that it perceives as coming from an unfathomable mystery.
Academic text (1991) -
Gee, I dunno, it's such a deep, unfathomable mystery... maybe it's because so many women find themselves in situations where they really are helpless, or would be helpless if they were assaulted in said situations?
Blog text (16) -
The origins of the universe remain an unfathomable mystery to scientists and philosophers alike.
-
Many believe that the depths of the ocean hold unfathomable mysteries waiting to be discovered.
Synonyms
660
4.7
Something that is hard to understand or explain
375
3.9
A thing people do not understand yet
33
8.1
A person or thing that is mysterious and hard to understand
4
7.7
A problem that is hard to understand or solve
1
9.7
Something or someone that is very mysterious and hard to understand
How Mysterious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'unfathomable' means 'impossible to comprehend' and 'mystery' means 'a puzzling or inexplicable situation', so their combination yields 'a mystery that cannot be understood'. This is a literal intensifying modifier + noun pattern common across languages, making it immediately derivable for a learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
The phrase unfathomable mystery comes from old sailors. They used fathom to measure how deep water was. If they could not reach the bottom it was called 'unfathomable', so the phrase now means a mystery that 'cannot be understood'.