inconceivable

adjective

ˌin-kən-ˈsē-və-bəl How to pronounce inconceivable (audio)
Definition of inconceivablenext
as in incredible
too extraordinary or improbable to believe the formerly inconceivable idea that humans could land on the moon

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of inconceivable The psycho fanatics have a microphone now, which was inconceivable 20 years ago. — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 10 Sep. 2026 When Emmanuel Macron revived the idea, in 2018, a curator at the Bayeux Museum insisted that moving the frankly archeological textile was, conservationally speaking, inconceivable. — John Phipps, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026 Beyond the inconceivable mishap, the Huskers looked reactive and a step slow on defense for the entire first quarter. — Mitch Sherman, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026 There are plenty of inconceivable exploits in the final season of Outer Banks, in ranging degrees of ridiculousness. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inconceivable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inconceivable
  1. incredible
  2. incredulous
  3. unlikely
  4. impossible
  5. unthinkable
  6. unimaginable
  7. unbelievable
Adjective
  • Achieving incredible data transmission speed The researcher fabricated the device using a 300-millimeter silicon-on-insulator manufacturing process.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
  • This year’s incredible class of awardees includes Jason Bolden, Kellon Deryck, Molly Greenwald, Chris Horan, Amy Komorowski, Thuy Nguyen, Law Roach, and Trish Summerville.
    — InStyle, InStyle, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of incredible
Adjective
  • In a true turn of events that would seem almost incredulous in a Hollywood script, the boss of a now defunct production company that specialized in true crime is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The title comes from a phrase that became part of his creative vocabulary and began appearing in sketches whenever an absurd situation called for a perfectly incredulous response.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of incredulous
Adjective
  • Friedman began her remarks by reminding the audience of von Furstenberg’s unlikely beginning, born in Brussels to a Holocaust survivor.
    — Ariel Bielsky, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Dahlia Scheindlin, a veteran pollster who works for left-of-center candidates and parties in Israel, speculated that the number of returning overseas voters was unlikely to be big enough to change the outcome of the election.
    — Daniel Brook, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of unlikely
Adjective
  • Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said long-standing restrictions on the civilian system in Ukraine made such offensive use impossible.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2026
  • The two versions of Israel that could result are so divergent as to seem impossible to reconcile.
    — Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of impossible
Adjective
  • Before the start of the season, that would have seemed unthinkable.
    — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Just a few years ago, this scene of Jewish worshippers praying openly and vocally atop Jerusalem’s holiest of holy sites – known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound – would have been unthinkable.
    — Ilan Ben Zion, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of unthinkable
Adjective
  • What happened in that classroom was unimaginable, and like so many in this community, my heart is broken for everyone affected by this tragedy.
    — KATU Staff, Baltimore Sun, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Annour and his family were once part of that wave, fleeing their home in Sudan in 2003, stepping around dead bodies and witnessing unimaginable horror, to escape one in a series of continuing civil wars that have given way to genocide.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of unimaginable
Adjective
  • Dubbed 'Flash Charging,' this allows the Atto 8’s massive 115-kilowatt-hour battery to rocket from a 10% charge up to 70% capacity in an almost unbelievable five minutes.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 17 Oct. 2026
  • What Zoe [Kazan] has done with Steinbeck’s East of Eden is just unbelievable.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of unbelievable

Browse Nearby Words

incomputable
inconceivable
inconceivably
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Cite this Entry

“Inconceivable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inconceivable. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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