ineffable

[ in-ef-uh-buhl ]

adjective

1. incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible:

   ineffable joy.

2. not to be spoken because of its sacredness; unutterable:

   the ineffable name of the deity.

   Synonyms: unspeakable

ineffable

/ ɪnˈɛfəbəl /

adjective

1. too great or intense to be expressed in words; unutterable
2. too sacred to be uttered
3. indescribable; indefinable

Derived Forms

• inˈeffably, adverb
• inˌeffaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• in·effa·bili·ty in·effa·ble·ness noun
• in·effa·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ineffable¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word ineffābilis. See in- ³, effable

Word History and Origins

Origin of ineffable¹

C15: from Latin ineffābilis unutterable, from in- ¹+ effābilis, from effārī to utter, from fārī to speak

Example Sentences

There is no happy-go-lucky ending here, only the sense that an ineffable longing we have, to know and be known, is so precious and rare that most of us never find its fulfillment here on earth.

From Vox

Over thousands of years, people have landed on only vague clues in pursuit of the keys to this ineffable magnetism.

From Popular-Science

More broadly, intuition captures that ineffable way a human brain generates insight.

From MIT Technology Review

A lot of what mathematicians do when they approach a new problem is ineffable.

From Nautilus

At a high level, a lot of what mathematicians do when they approach a new problem is ineffable.

From Quanta Magazine

It was something ineffable and harder to define: freedom of speech.

From The Daily Beast

And on that score, on that ineffable quality called charisma, Walker may face his biggest challenges.

From The Daily Beast

Consider this latest ineffable outrage making the rounds on conservative websites.

From The Daily Beast

Sometimes there's a thing in the air, an ineffable thing, that just makes it all work.

From The Daily Beast

They need God to feel immanent, nearly material like a Greek deity, while we need God to be thought ineffable and mysterious.

From The Daily Beast

The young man's face suddenly changed, and assumed an expression of ineffable gentleness.

From Project Gutenberg

A strange spell came over the gazer, a spell of tender awe and ineffable peace.

From Project Gutenberg

But the teacher does not go beyond this, and descant upon the opposite conditions, and promise joys ineffable and full of glory.

From Project Gutenberg

She chatted as usual in very good spirits, and just before he went she told him the report with a smile of ineffable scorn.

From Project Gutenberg

Balaustion—wild pomegranate flower—has in her something of the Greek; but she has also an ineffable touch of our modern time.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ethereal
• heavenly
• indescribable
• transcendent
• unspeakable