incomprehensible

See also: incompréhensible

English

Etymology

From Middle French incomprehensible, from Latin incomprehensibilis. Equivalent to in- +‎ comprehensible.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɪnkɑmpɹəˈhɛnsɪbəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

incomprehensible (comparative more incomprehensible, superlative most incomprehensible)

1. Impossible or very difficult to understand.
   • 1904-09, Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth, published 1962

     But this inference, which is supported by the opening of Book I, renders incomprehensible the note "and I have finished writing this," which is included within the dream.

   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 196:

     In the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, firing into a continent.

   • 1990, Greg Bear, Heads:

     He shook his head. 'It's not only undefined, it's incomprehensible. Even the QL is befuddled by it and can't give me straight answers.'

2. (theology or literary) Which cannot be contained; boundless, infinite.
   • 1969, “The Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom: Liturgy of Offering”, in Joseph Raya, transl., edited by José de Vinck, Byzantine Daily Worship‎^[1], Alleluia Press, page 282:

     Prayer to God the Father: It is fitting and right to sing to You, to bless You, to praise You, to give thanks to You, to worship You in every place of your dominion: for You are God, beyond description, beyond understanding, invisible, incomprehensible, always existing, always the same; You and your only-begotten Son and your Holy Spirit

Synonyms

• fathomless, unfathomable, unintelligible; See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible

Antonyms

• comprehensible, understandable; See also Thesaurus:comprehensible

Related terms

• incomprehension

Translations

impossible or very difficult to understand

• Albanian: pakuptueshëm (sq)
• Armenian: անհասկանալի (hy) (anhaskanali)
• Belarusian: незразуме́лы (njezrazumjély)
• Bulgarian: неразбираем (bg) (nerazbiraem), непонятен (bg) (neponjaten)
• Catalan: incomprensible
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 難以理解的／难以理解的 (nányǐ lǐjiě de), 費解的／费解的 (zh) (fèijiě de)

• Czech: nesrozumitelný (cs)
• Danish: uforståelig, ubegribelig
• Dutch: onbegrijpelijk (nl)
• Finnish: käsittämätön (fi), ei ymmärrettävä, siansaksa (fi), heprea (fi)
• French: incompréhensible (fr)
• Galician: incomprensible (gl)
• Georgian: გაუგებარი (gaugebari), გონებისთვის მიუწვდომელი (gonebistvis miuc̣vdomeli)
• German: unverständlich (de), unbegreiflich (de), unfassbar (de)
• Greek: ακατανόητος (el) (akatanóitos), ακαταλαβίστικος (el) (akatalavístikos)

  Ancient: ἀκατάληπτος (akatálēptos)

• Hungarian: érthetetlen (hu), megfoghatatlan (hu), felfoghatatlan (hu)
• Italian: incomprensibile (it)
• Japanese: 不可解な (ja) (fukakai na), 理解できない (ja) (rikai dekinai)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ubegripelig (no), ubefattelig

  Nynorsk: ubegripeleg

• Occitan: incompreensible (oc)
• Plautdietsch: onbejrieplich
• Polish: niezrozumiały (pl)
• Portuguese: incompreensível (pt)
• Russian: непоня́тный (ru) (neponjátnyj), непостижи́мый (ru) (nepostižímyj), невразуми́тельный (ru) (nevrazumítelʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: do-thuigsinneach
• Spanish: incomprensible (es)
• Swedish: obegriplig (sv), ofattbar (sv)
• Tagalog: di-matingkala
• Turkish: anlaşılmaz (tr)
• Ukrainian: незрозумі́лий (nezrozumílyj)

Noun

incomprehensible (plural incomprehensibles)

1. Anything that is beyond understanding.

Translations

anything that is beyond understanding

• Ukrainian: незрозумі́лий (nezrozumílyj)

Further reading

• “incomprehensible”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “incomprehensible”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Middle French

Etymology

First known attestation 1314, borrowed from Latin incomprehensibilis.

Adjective

incomprehensible m or f (plural incomprehensibles)

1. incomprehensible

Descendants

• → English: incomprehensible