inscrutable
/ˌɪnˈskɹuːtəbl̩/
inscrutable means difficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom, or interpret. It carries an Arena rating of 1959, earned across 64 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, inscrutable ranks #87 of 42,749 for Qualifying, #415 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words, #921 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,035 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words.
inscrutable is pronounced /ˌɪnˈskɹuːtəbl̩/.
Why “inscrutable” is a great word
Difficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom, or interpret. From Late Latin inscrutabilis, from Latin in- ("not") + scrutari ("to examine, search"), corresponding to in- + scrutable, first recorded in English 1400–50. Unlike "mysterious," which glimmers with invitation, or "obscure," which implies meaning dimmed by vagueness, inscrutable denotes an inherent, permanent resistance to penetration—the wall behind the veil. It is the expressionless face of a stranger on a midnight train, the unreadable depth of a black pool beneath a moonless sky, the weathered surface of a stone worn smooth by millennia—a quality of being that offers no foothold for interpretation, leaving the observer alone with the cold, perfect fact of the unknown.
Etymology
Borrowed into late Middle English from Late Latin īnscrūtābilis, from in- (“not”) + scrūtō (“to examine”), corresponding to in- + scrutable
adj
- Difficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom, or interpret.e.g.“His inscrutable theories would years later become the foundation of a whole new science.”
noun
- One who or that which is inscrutable; a person, etc. that cannot be comprehended.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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