imponderable

American  

[im-pon-der-uh-buhl] / ɪmˈpɒn dər ə bəl /

adjective

1. not ponderable; that cannot be precisely determined, measured, or evaluated.

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noun

1. an imponderable thing, force, agency, etc.

imponderable British  

/ ɪmˈpɒndərəbəl, -drəbəl /

adjective

1. unable to be weighed or assessed

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noun

1. something difficult or impossible to assess

Other Word Forms

• imponderability noun
• imponderableness noun
• imponderably adverb

Etymology

Origin of imponderable

From the Medieval Latin word imponderābilis, dating back to 1785–95. See im- ², ponderable

Explanation

Imponderable describes a situation that isn't able to be completely explained. "What is the meaning of life?" is one of those imponderable questions that defies humans' ability for understanding If something is ponderable, it is capable of being assessed or weighed; stick im- in front and you get the opposite effect. Use imponderable to describe something that is elusive and vague, perhaps even evasive. When your question doesn't have a definitive answer, you are in imponderable territory: "Life has many imponderable questions, such as why you park in a driveway and drive on parkway."

Example Sentences

The reason is a mix of exaggerated ambition and imponderable events.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2023

Can’t do anything about the sheer messiness of being an object of desire or, to quote the man himself, “the imponderable of being a human being.”

From Washington Post • Oct. 16, 2022

One imponderable in predicting the course of an Elder governorship is how his accession to the job will itself affect the state’s political dynamics.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2021

But there is an imponderable, atavistic element to ruling that he lacks.

From Slate • Mar. 12, 2020

Another believer said the spirits were “a magnetic, electric force, going out from the person, and imponderable; this force comes in contact with … the mind.”

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock