unthinkably
1
7.5
- adverb
- /ʌnˈθɪŋkəbli/
- From then onwards, humanity has grown on an unthinkably large scale.
- unthinkably huge
- unthinkably long
- unthinkably high
Examples
-
Launching on the cheaper infrastructure, science missions that are unthinkably expensive today will suddenly become trivial.
Blog text (12) -
Unthinkably good things can happen, even late in the game.
Blog text (3) -
This is nearly unthinkably high.
Blog text (19) -
Behind it is an enormous humped back, unthinkably high.
Fiction book (1991) -
It must have seemed unthinkably disgusting to people at the time.
Academic text (2012) -
All that time I heard it would never be commercially viable unless oil was over $80 a barrel, or some (at the time) unthinkably astronomical price.
Blog text (23) -
The consequences of the disaster were unthinkably severe, leaving many in despair.
-
After the scandal, the trust between the two world leaders was unthinkably damaged.
-
The idea of abandoning their home for an uncertain future felt unthinkably wrong to them.
Synonyms
98
3.7
In a way that is very surprising or seems impossible
32
5.7
To a very great degree that seems like it cannot be true
30
2.8
In a way that is very surprising and hard to believe
7
6.8
To a degree that is very hard to believe
2
7.7
In a way that is very hard to imagine
1
8.2
In a way that is so great it cannot be understood or believed
Antonyms
How Extreme
Surface Forms
Morphology
unthinkably = unthinkable (transparent) = un + think + able + ly
Formed by adding the productive adverbial suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'unthinkable', which itself is transparently built from 'un-' + 'think' + '-able'.
Etymology
Unthinkably is made from un- ('not'), think and -ably ('in a way'), so it literally means 'not able to be thought'. That's why unthinkably describes something so extreme you can hardly imagine, like an 'unthinkably' high cost or an 'unthinkably' brave act.