Inscrutable Meaning
/ˌɪnˈskɹuːtəbl̩/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjDifficult or impossible to comprehend, fathom, or interpret.
nounOne who or that which is inscrutable; a person, etc. that cannot be comprehended.
Sentence Examples
She looked at him with an inscrutable expression.
Chinese people are so inscrutable.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
His face remained ____ during the test, so no one knew if he was confused or confident.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The detective's expression was ____, making it impossible for the suspect to know what he was thinking.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed into late Middle English from Late Latin īnscrūtābilis, from in- (“not”) + scrūtō (“to examine”), corresponding to in- + scrutable
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The pale, inscrutable determinateness, and flinchless intrepidity of Pierre, now began to domineer upon them; for any social unusualness or greatness is sometimes most impressive in the retrospect."
— 1852 July, Herman Melville, “Book XXIV. Lucy at the Apostles’.”, in Pierre: Or, The Ambiguities, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC, section IV, page 445:
"It was unconscious, this smile was, though just after he had said something it got intensified for an instant. It came at the end of his speeches like a seal applied on the words to make the meaning of the commonest phrase appear absolutely inscrutable."
— 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 211, column 1:
"She called my vanity license plate inscrutable! 'ICU81MI'? Hilarious!"
— 2007 October 11, Robert Carlock, “Jack Gets in the Game”, in 30 Rock, season 2, episode 2, spoken by Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan):
"The writer Juan Rulfo, whose 1955 novel, “Pedro Páramo,” still stands as the central monument of modern Mexican literature, grew up in Jalisco and vividly depicted its arid, sun-blasted landscapes in his writing, while the architect Luis Barragán, who moved from Guadalajara to Mexico City in the 1930s, carried with him an appreciation for his home state’s cloisters, haciendas and humble country buildings, which he translated in his own work as austere, inscrutable volumes of stucco."
— 2023 November 17, Michael Snyder, “A Guide to Guadalajara, Mexico’s City of Makers”, in The New York Times Style Magazine, archived from the original on 17 Nov 2023:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
His face remained ____ during the test, so no one knew if he was confused or confident.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The detective's expression was ____, making it impossible for the suspect to know what he was thinking.