inscrutable

[ in-skroo-tuh-buhl ]

adjective

1. incapable of being investigated, analyzed, or scrutinized; impenetrable.

   Synonyms: undiscoverable, inexplicable, incomprehensible, hidden

   Antonyms: comprehensible

2. not easily understood; mysterious; unfathomable:

   an inscrutable smile.

3. incapable of being seen through physically; physically impenetrable:

   the inscrutable depths of the ocean.

inscrutable

/ ɪnˈskruːtəbəl /

adjective

1. incomprehensible; mysterious or enigmatic

Derived Forms

• inˌscrutaˈbility, noun
• inˈscrutably, adverb

Other Words From

• in·scruta·bili·ty in·scruta·ble·ness noun
• in·scruta·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of inscrutable¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Late Latin word inscrūtābilis. See in- ³, scrutable

Word History and Origins

Origin of inscrutable¹

C15: from Late Latin inscrūtābilis, from Latin in- ¹+ scrūtārī to examine

Synonym Study

See mysterious.

Example Sentences

Rather too much time is spent repeating staged close-ups of a left hand sketching in ink or applying paint, or else executing inscrutable mirror-writing on parchment — Leonardo’s secretive signature method — coupled with explanatory voice-over.

From Los Angeles Times

It also serves as an MRI into the inner life of Didion, who has been somewhat of a frustratingly inscrutable presence.

From Los Angeles Times

“Bill got to the core of Johnny as much as anybody was going to, but he was in many ways an inscrutable guy.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Grotesquerie” may have been inscrutable to most of us when it began, but its star and executive producer, Niecy Nash-Betts, knew exactly where it was going, and the importance of staying mum about it.

From Salon

A good opera “speaks to something specific about the human condition, and isn’t just some dull, remote, inscrutable museum piece,” he told Salon.

From Salon

Related Words

• enigmatic
• impenetrable
• incomprehensible
• unfathomable
• unintelligible