unsayable

adjective

un·​say·​able ˌən-ˈsā-ə-bəl How to pronounce unsayable (audio)
Synonyms of unsayablenext
: not sayable : not easily expressed or related
also : not allowed to be said

Examples of unsayable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In the end one always runs up against the fact that what one most wants to write is unsayable. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 27 Oct. 2026 Both the not said and the unsayable—the ineffable—pull new elements into a telling. — Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2026 Well-meaning observers want to split the difference between the sayable and unsayable. — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 8 Aug. 2026 What the novel is working toward is not the exposure of a violation, let alone the processing of any real-life event, but a recognition of the self—a self who survives the scourges of childhood, and a storytelling-self who learns that fiction can reveal otherwise unsayable truths. — Honor Jones, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unsayable

Word History

First Known Use

1870, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unsayable was in 1870

Rhymes for unsayable

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Browse Nearby Words

unsay
unsayable
unscabbard
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Cite this Entry

“Unsayable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unsayable. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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