unspeakably
- adverb
- /ʌnˈspiːkəblɪ/
- The news of the disaster was unspeakably shocking to everyone in the community.
- unspeakably beautiful
- unspeakably rude
- unspeakably horrible
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Watch on YouTubeAnd Williams praised her unspeakably elevating presence through all her frail pretenses of being this or that.
- And Williams praised her unspeakably elevating presence through all her frail pretenses of being this or that.
- And it was the first time that I was really confronted by, by something that was just like unspeakably tragic.
- This so unspeakably things so unspeakably wretched, it's a wonder words stand being able to contain them.
Examples
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- I find it unspeakably distasteful.
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To me, every hour of the day and night is an unspeakably perfect miracle.
Blog text (8) -
I was alone, unspeakably alone.
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But something was unspeakably good in this moment.
Fiction book (1997) -
"She felt very young, "and at the same time unspeakably aged.
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Darling, you're unspeakably pretty and bright and you have talent.
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But the alternatives are very limited and unspeakably depressing, sir.
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By God's grace and mercy, my family and I have been unspeakably blessed by their labors.
Blog text (9) -
This is unspeakably painful.
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Normally, the first sighting of land, Douglass remarked, makes one "unspeakably grateful."
Academic text (1999)
Synonyms
In a way that is very surprising or seems impossible
In a way that is very surprising and hard to believe
To a very great degree that you cannot count
To a degree that is very hard to believe
In a way that is so strong it is hard to put into words
In a way that is very hard to imagine
In a way that is so great it cannot be understood or believed
An amount so great you cannot imagine
So strong that you cannot find words to describe it
By a very large amount that cannot be measured
Very much in a way that words cannot describe
So great that you cannot find words to describe it
So great that you cannot measure it
In a way you cannot clearly describe
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
unspeakably = unspeakable (transparent) = un + speak + able + ly
The adverb is a straightforward derivation from the adjective 'unspeakable' using the productive adverbial suffix '-ly'.
Etymology
Unspeakably is made of parts you know: un- 'not', speak 'to say', -able 'can', and -ly to show how something is done. It literally means 'not able to be said', so we use it when something is so strong, beautiful, or sad that words cannot describe it.