Inscrutable Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

The meaning of INSCRUTABLE is not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood : mysterious. How to use inscrutable in a sentence. Did you know? Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut inscrutable adjective SaveWord in·​scru·​ta·​ble |\in-ˈskrü-tə-bəl \ Definitionofinscrutable :notreadilyinvestigated,interpreted,orunderstood:mysterious aninscrutablesmileinscrutablemotives OtherWordsfrominscrutable Synonyms Didyouknow? MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutinscrutable OtherWordsfrominscrutable inscrutability \ in-​ˌskrü-​tə-​ˈbi-​lə-​tē \ noun inscrutableness \ in-​ˈskrü-​tə-​bəl-​nəs \ noun inscrutably \ in-​ˈskrü-​tə-​blē \ adverb Synonymsforinscrutable Synonyms arcane,cryptic,deep,enigmatic(alsoenigmatical),impenetrable,mysterious,mystic,occult,uncanny VisittheThesaurusforMore  Didyouknow? Youmayhavetoscrutinizethiswordcloselyinordertospeculateastoitsorigins,butthereisatleastoneclueinthissentence.InscrutablederivesfromtheLateLatinadjectiveinscrutabilis,whichcanbetracedbacktotheverbscrutari,meaning"tosearchortoexamine.""Scrutari"isalsothesourceoftheEnglishwords"scrutinize"and"scrutiny."Incidentally,theantonym"scrutable"("capableofbeingdecipheredorunderstood")isapartofourlanguageaswell,thoughit'slesscommonthan"inscrutable." ExamplesofinscrutableinaSentence Supersymmetryisamagicmirror,andeverythinginwhatweimaginetobetherealworldhasitsghostly,inscrutablemirrorimage. —IanStewart,Prospect,September2003 OfallthemythsthathavegrownuparoundAlanGreenspan,themostpowerfulistheideathathe'swillfullyinscrutable. —JamesSurowiecki,NewYorker,22Jan.2001 ThatwilypoliticiansmightadoptFranklin'sdistinctionbetweenappearanceandrealitytobecomeinscrutableconfidencemendidnotseemtotroublehim. —JohnH.Summers,JournalofAmericanHistory,December2000 aninscrutableworkofart Hewasaquiet,inscrutableman. RecentExamplesontheWeb Thefinancialstructureofthesecompaniesisasinscrutableasacontractprintedonadot-matrixprinterandsignedinadimundergroundparkinggarage. — KaitlynTiffany,TheAtlantic,21Dec.2021 Totheaverageperson,thebyzantinesystemoffinanceandinvestmentisjustasinscrutableasthetechnicaldesignofavaccine. — DavidFaris,TheWeek,14July2021 Asinscrutableasthemysteryis,scientistsarepiecingittogether. — VirginiaMorell,ScientificAmerican,1July2015 Buttheiralmostinscrutablenature,thewaytheirpersonaisbothsplashedacrossthecanvasandhiddenfromit,defiesourcuriosity—andispreciselywhatengenderssomuchfascination. — ElizabethDjinis,SmithsonianMagazine,5May2022 SupremeCourtjusticesareofteninscrutableandpressaverse. — AlexShephard,TheNewRepublic,25Mar.2022 ThemovieisalsoastrongspotlightforSalazar,aconsistentlyfascinatingandmagneticactresswhosefunny,warmheartedandultimatelyinscrutableMariarepresentsthepotentialformeaningfulhumanconnectionalwaysjustbeyondHarrison’sreach. — NoelMurray,LosAngelesTimes,15Apr.2022 Wilyandinscrutable,Putinearnedareputationasaruthlessstreetfighterunafraidtotakeonfarlargeropponents. — TheWeekStaff,TheWeek,20Mar.2022 Duringtheplayoffgame—calledbyCBSSports’sNoahEagle,theNickelodeonpersonalityGabrielleNevaehGreen,andtheformerNFLplayerNateBurleson—thesavageandsometimesinscrutablenatureofthesportwasmadelegibleandbenign. — JakeNevins,TheAtlantic,7Feb.2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'inscrutable.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofinscrutable 15thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedabove HistoryandEtymologyforinscrutable MiddleEnglish,fromLateLatininscrutabilis,fromLatinin-+scrutaritosearch—moreatscrutiny LearnMoreAboutinscrutable Shareinscrutable PosttheDefinitionofinscrutabletoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofinscrutableonTwitter TimeTravelerforinscrutable Thefirstknownuseofinscrutablewas inthe15thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearinscrutable inscroll inscrutable insculp SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforinscrutable LastUpdated 12Jun2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Inscrutable.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inscrutable.Accessed22Jun.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MorefromMerriam-Websteroninscrutable Nglish:TranslationofinscrutableforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofinscrutableforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY quibble SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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