Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

imponderable

/ɪmˈpɑːndəɹəbl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.66 in modern English

Syllables: im-pon-der-able
IPA: /ɪmˈpɑːndəɹəbl/

19

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

5

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Not ponderable; without sensible or appreciable weight; incapable of being weighed.

adj

Difficult or impossible to comprehend or evaluate.

noun

A substance or body, which is not ponderable, i.e., which not does not having a detectable amount of matter or measurable mass. An imponderable substance or body; specifically, in the plural, a name formerly applied to heat, light, electricity, and magnetism.

noun

An imponderable question.

noun

A factor that cannot be anticipated.

Example Sentences

"One key imponderable is the attitude of the companies that will no longer have a role in the business. It is worth noting here that several have already thrown the towel in or been gently pushed out, such as Stagecoach and National Express."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English im- English ponder Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English ponderable English imponderable From im- + ponderable.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɪmˈpɑːndəɹəbl/
British English: /ɪmˈpɒndəɹəbl/

Inflected Forms

more imponderable (comparative) most imponderable (superlative) imponderables (plural)

Derived Forms

imponderableness imponderably

Questions

How do you pronounce imponderable?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪmˈpɑːndəɹəbl/.
What does imponderable mean?: Not ponderable; without sensible or appreciable weight; incapable of being weighed.
Where does imponderable come from?: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English im- English ponder Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English ponderable English imponderable From im- + ponderable.

How to pronounce imponderable

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪmˈpɑːndəɹəbl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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