Ineffable — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

defying expression or description

too sacred to be uttered

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ɪnˈɛfəbəl/

🇬🇧British English

/ɪnˈɛfəbəl/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɪnˈɛfəbəl/

3 syllables Say it as /ɪnˈɛfəbəl/.

Examples

indefinable yearnings
indescribable beauty
ineffable ecstasy

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

indescribable untellable unnameable indefinable unutterable unspeakable

Parts of Speech

adjective	defying expression or description “indefinable yearnings”
adjective	too sacred to be uttered “the ineffable name of the Deity”

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

unbeschreiblich

sich jedem Ausdruck oder jeder Beschreibung entziehen

🇪🇸Spanish

inefable

desafiando la expresión o descripción

🇮🇹Italian

ineffabile

sfidando l'espressione o la descrizione

🇳🇱Dutch

onuitsprekelijk

uitdrukking of beschrijving tarten

🇵🇹Portuguese

inefável

expressão ou descrição desafiadora

🇷🇺Russian

невыразимый

бросающий вызов выражению или описанию

India

🇮🇳Hindi

अकहा

अभिव्यक्ति या विवरण को अस्वीकार करना

🇧🇩Bengali

অযোগ্য

অভিব্যক্তি বা বর্ণনাকে অস্বীকার করা

🇮🇳Tamil

விவரிக்க முடியாத

வெளிப்பாடு அல்லது விளக்கத்தை மீறுதல்

🇮🇳Telugu

వర్ణించలేనిది

వ్యక్తీకరణ లేదా వివరణను ధిక్కరించడం

🇮🇳Marathi

अक्षम्य

अवमानकारक अभिव्यक्ती किंवा वर्णन

🇮🇳Gujarati

અસ્પષ્ટ

અવગણના કરનારી અભિવ્યક્તિ અથવા વર્ણન

🇮🇳Kannada

ವರ್ಣಿಸಲಾಗದ

ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ ಅಥವಾ ವಿವರಣೆಯನ್ನು ಧಿಕ್ಕರಿಸುವುದು

🇮🇳Malayalam

വിവരണാതീതമായ

പദപ്രയോഗം അല്ലെങ്കിൽ വിവരണം ധിക്കരിക്കുന്നു

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਯੋਗ

ਪ੍ਰਗਟਾਵੇ ਜਾਂ ਵਰਣਨ ਦਾ ਵਿਰੋਧ ਕਰਨਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

ناقابل بیان

اظہار یا وضاحت سے انکار کرنا

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

不可言喻的

违背表达或描述

🇯🇵Japanese

言葉では言い表せない

表現や説明に反する

🇰🇷Korean

말로 표현할 수 없는

표현이나 설명을 거부하는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

không thể diễn tả được

thách thức biểu hiện hoặc mô tả

🇹🇭Thai

อธิบายไม่ได้

ท้าทายการแสดงออกหรือคำอธิบาย

🇮🇩Indonesian

tak terlukiskan

menentang ekspresi atau deskripsi

🇵🇭Filipino

hindi maipaliwanag

sumasalungat sa pagpapahayag o paglalarawan

🇲🇾Malay

tak terkata

ungkapan atau penerangan yang menentang

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

لا يوصف

يتحدى التعبير أو الوصف

🇮🇷Persian

غیر قابل وصف

مخالفت با بیان یا توصیف

🇹🇷Turkish

tarif edilemez

ifadeye veya açıklamaya meydan okuyan

🇮🇱Hebrew

בַּל יְתוּאַר

מתריס על ביטוי או תיאור

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'ineffable'?

The primary meaning of 'ineffable' is 'defying expression or description'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'ineffable' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'ineffable' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'ineffable' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'ineffable' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'ineffable' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'ineffable' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'ineffable' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'ineffable' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'ineffable' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'ineffable' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted