inscrutable

(ĭn-skrū'tə-bəl)
adj.
Difficult to fathom or understand; impenetrable. See synonyms at mysterious.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin īnscrūtābilis : in-, not; see in-¹ + scrūtārī, to scrutinize; see scrutiny.]

inscrutability in·scru'ta·bil'i·ty or in·scru'ta·ble·ness n.
inscrutably in·scru'ta·bly adv.

View more Miscellaneous videos

adjective

Incapable of being grasped by the intellect or understanding: impenetrable, incomprehensible, uncomprehensible, unfathomable, unintelligible. See knowledge/ignorance.

adj

Definition: hidden, mysterious; blank
Antonyms: clear, comprehensible, expressive, evident, intelligible, obvious, plain, transparent

IN BRIEF: Impenetrably mysterious or profound.

I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering; surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy! — Louise Bogan (1897-1970), American poet & critic.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to inscrutable, see:

• Introverted, Reserved, Isolated, or Mysterious

---

  See crossword solutions for the clue Inscrutable.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - uransagelig, uudgrundelig

Nederlands (Dutch)
mysterieus, ondoorgrondelijk

Français (French)
adj. - impénétrable, inscrutable, fermé (un visage)

Deutsch (German)
adj. - unergründlich

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - ανεξιχνίαστος, μυστηριώδης, αινιγματικός, ανέκφραστος

Italiano (Italian)
misterioso, inscrutabile

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - inescrutável

Русский (Russian)
непостижимый

Español (Spanish)
adj. - inescrutable, enigmático, insondable

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - outgrundlig, mystisk, ogenomtränglig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
难以了解的, 不能预测的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 難以瞭解的, 不能預測的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 측량할 수 없는, 불가사의한, 수수께끼

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 不可解な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) غامض, غير واضح‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮שאין להבינו, שאין לרדת לעומקו, סתום, עמוק, מסתורי‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.