Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

incomprehensible

/ɪnˌkɑmpɹəˈhɛnsɪb(ə)l/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.17 in modern English

Syllables: in-com-pre-hen-si-ble
IPA: /ɪnˌkɑmpɹəˈhɛnsɪb(ə)l/

27

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

6

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Impossible or very difficult to understand.

adj

Which cannot be contained; boundless, infinite.

Literary

noun

Anything that is beyond understanding.

Example Sentences

"But this inference, which is supported by the opening of Book I, renders incomprehensible the note "and I have finished writing this," which is included within the dream."
"In the empty immensity of earth, sky, and water, there she was, incomprehensible, firing into a continent."
"He shook his head. 'It's not only undefined, it's incomprehensible. Even the QL is befuddled by it and can't give me straight answers.'"
"Trump’s grotesque and incomprehensible fondness for Putin makes the details of any deal highly dangerous for Europe and the NATO alliance, founded to confront Russia."
"Prayer to God the Father: It is fitting and right to sing to You, to bless You, to praise You, to give thanks to You, to worship You in every place of your dominion: for You are God, beyond description, beyond understanding, invisible, incomprehensible, always existing, always the same; You and your only-begotten Son and your Holy Spirit"

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in- Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *per- Proto-Indo-European *preh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-i Proto-Indo-European *préh₂i? Proto-Italic *prai Proto-Italic *prai- Proto-Indo-European *gʰed- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *gʰnédti Proto-Italic *hendō Proto-Italic *praiɣendō Latin prehendō Latin comprehendō Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Italic *-ðlom Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin comprehēnsibilis Latin incomprehēnsibilisbor. Middle French incomprehensibleder. English incomprehensible From Middle French incomprehensible, from Latin incomprehēnsibilis. Equivalent to in- + comprehensible.

Origin

Source language: Middle French

Word Breakdown

Root: incomprehensible, incomprehēnsibilis

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ɪnˌkɑmpɹəˈhɛnsɪb(ə)l/
British English: /ɪnˌkɒmpɹɪˈhɛnsɪb(ə)l/

Usage

Literary

Inflected Forms

more incomprehensible (comparative) most incomprehensible (superlative) incomprehensibles (plural)

Derived Forms

incomprehensibleness incomprehensibly

Phrases

it's all Chinese to me it's all Greek to me

Frequently Paired Words

incomprehension opaque turbid it's all Chinese to me it's all Greek to me confusing indescribable

Synonyms

fathomless unfathomable unintelligible abstruse Chinese dense enigmatic bottomless Greek inapprehensible incognizable incomprehensible

Antonyms

comprehensible understandable

Rhymes With

indispensible

Questions

How do you pronounce incomprehensible?: The recorded pronunciation is /ɪnˌkɑmpɹəˈhɛnsɪb(ə)l/.
What does incomprehensible mean?: Impossible or very difficult to understand.
Where does incomprehensible come from?: It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce incomprehensible

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “incomprehensible”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɪnˌkɑmpɹəˈhɛnsɪb(ə)l/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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