ineffable

Adjective
US[in-ef-uh-buhl]/ˌɪˈnɛfəbəl/4 syllables
Synonyms: indefinableindescribableunspeakableuntellableunutterableunnameable

Open English WordNet

Adjective (2)

  1. defying expression or description“indefinable yearnings”“indescribable beauty”“ineffable ecstasy”“unspeakable happiness”“unutterable contempt”“a thing of untellable splendor”Synonyms: indefinableindescribableunspeakableuntellableunutterableOpposite expressibleSimilar inexpressible, unexpressible
  2. too sacred to be uttered“the ineffable name of the Deity”Synonyms: unnameableunspeakableunutterableOpposite profaneSimilar sacred
Word of the day · Nov 11About this word
aestheticnoun

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

In·ef′fa·ble adjective

Origin: L. ineffabilis: cf. F. ineffable. See In- not, and Effable, Fame.

Incapable of being expressed in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable; as, the ineffable joys of heaven.

Contentment with our lot... will diffuse ineffable contentment over the soul.— James Beattie

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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