unthinkable

[ uhn-thing-kuh-buhl ]

adjective

1. inconceivable; unimaginable:

   the unthinkable size of the universe.

2. not to be considered; out of the question:

   Such a suggestion is unthinkable.

noun

1. something that cannot be conceived or imagined, as something too unusual, vague, or disagreeable:

   Today's unthinkables are tomorrow's realities.

unthinkable

/ ʌnˈθɪŋkəbəl /

adjective

1. not to be contemplated; out of the question
2. unimaginable; inconceivable
3. unreasonable; improbable

Derived Forms

• unˈthinkably, adverb
• unˌthinkaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• unthink·a·bili·ty un·thinka·ble·ness noun
• un·thinka·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of unthinkable¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; un- ¹, thinkable

Example Sentences

And in many of the larger states run by Democrats we are already seeing a strong pushback, which they have been planning for months in case Trump managed to do the previously unthinkable and win again.

From Salon

In neighboring Dearborn Heights, with another large Arab American community, Trump claimed 44 percent to Harris’s 38 perfect, marking a shift once unthinkable toward a man who had spent his first run for president demonizing Muslims in America and enacting a Muslim ban during his first term in office.

From Slate

For a few moments people even did the unthinkable - putting down their mobile phones.

From BBC

I was a Justice official at the beginning of what became the Whitewater scandal, and it would have been unthinkable at the time for a White House official to try to direct the department to investigate a political enemy.

From Los Angeles Times

Not long after midnight on election night, as the once unthinkable prospect of a Donald Trump victory was congealing into inevitability, former Democratic congressman Harold Ford made a rather fatuous plea on Fox News.

From Slate

Related Words

• absurd
• extraordinary
• illogical
• implausible
• impossible
• improbable
• inconceivable
• preposterous
• rare
• unbelievable
• uncommon
• unimaginable
• unlikely
• unreasonable