unspeakable

Adjective
US[uhn-spee-kuh-buhl]/ənˈspikəbəl/4 syllables
Synonyms: indefinableindescribableineffableuntellableunutterableatrociousabominableawfuldreadfulpainfulterribleunnameable

Open English WordNet

Adjective (3)

  1. defying expression or description“indefinable yearnings”“indescribable beauty”“ineffable ecstasy”“unspeakable happiness”“unutterable contempt”“a thing of untellable splendor”Synonyms: indefinableindescribableineffableuntellableunutterableOpposite expressibleSimilar inexpressible, unexpressible
  2. exceptionally bad or displeasing“atrocious taste”“abominable workmanship”“an awful voice”“dreadful manners”“a painful performance”“terrible handwriting”“an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room”Synonyms: atrociousabominableawfuldreadfulpainfulterribleOpposite goodSimilar bad
  3. too sacred to be uttered“the ineffable name of the Deity”Synonyms: ineffableunnameableunutterableOpposite 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)

Unspeakable

Formed with the prefix un- (“not”). See speakable.

Un·speak′a·ble adjective

Origin: Pref. un- not + speakable.

Not speakable; incapable of being uttered or adequately described; inexpressible; unutterable; ineffable; as, unspeakable grief or rage. — Un·speak′wb-a1′>′a·bly, adverb

Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.— 1 Pet. i. 8.

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

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