unknowable

adjective

Definition of unknowablenext
as in ambiguous
not able to be known No matter how far science advances, some things about the world will always remain unknown and unknowable. If passed, this law will have unknowable consequences.

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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 unknowable How England will actually perform in a penalty shoot-out is still ultimately unknowable. — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 30 June 2026 Widow’s Bay has an admirable relationship with its own lore, veering away from the pure mystery-box approach of treating its secrets as sacred and unknowable. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 17 June 2026 Trauma’s intensity and unknowable nature are perhaps what gives us the imperative to try to communicate it. — Literary Hub, 18 June 2026 Whether Alphabet exists in 2126 is unknowable and, for a bondholder, almost beside the point. — Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for unknowable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unknowable
  1. ambiguous
  2. mysterious
  3. enigmatic
  4. obscure
  5. uncertain
  6. murky
  7. unclear
Adjective
  • Vermeule—a former clerk for Scalia—proposes that conservatives should read the Constitution’s ambiguous phrases and general structure in an openly moral way, drawing on principles grounded in the nature and purposes of government.
    — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 July 2026
  • Without a unified, clean, and accessible data structure, AI outputs quickly become ambiguous, hallucinated, and diluted, deepening the clarity crisis rather than resolving it.
    — Ali Hoss, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of ambiguous
Adjective
  • Beulah's spurned heir Joaquin (Juan Pablo Raba) calls up the mysterious Mariana (Raoul Max Trujillo) to help with his many problems, which include his ranch-usurping half-brother Rob-Will and those Duttons from Montana.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 3 July 2026
  • Nicolas Winding Refn’s audacious return to feature filmmaking is a gorgeous, mysterious act of cinema, sensorial and transgressive, that demands to be experienced on its own terms.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 2 July 2026
Definition of mysterious
Adjective
  • The admittedly shy Belgian-Italian fashion designer Anthony Vaccarello entered the house of Saint Laurent as an enigmatic underdog.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 6 July 2026
  • Many aspects of the physics underlying GRBs remain enigmatic—but Rubin’s potential for discovering entirely new types of transients could soon offer astronomers a wealth of additional cosmic mysteries to solve.
    — Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 1 July 2026
Definition of enigmatic
Adjective
  • Intentionally vague and obscure, the Daodejing would go on to inspire various interpretations ranging from philosophical reflections to how to realize the Dao in everyday practice.
    — Michael Naparstek, The Conversation, 6 July 2026
  • The end of legal slavery in New York should not be an obscure historical fact.
    — Tunisia Morrison, New York Daily News, 5 July 2026
Definition of obscure
Adjective
  • Harvard Health has taken a critical look at Apollo Neuro, and Medscape has warned about uncertain efficacy in at-home vagus stimulation devices.
    — Samantha Agate, Charlotte Observer, 3 July 2026
  • At the edge of an uncertain frontier, the founders organized people, knowledge, and governance in a way that could survive the unknown.
    — Ashok N. Srivastava, Fortune, 3 July 2026
Definition of uncertain
Adjective
  • More than a year later, the origin of the document remains murky.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026
  • By the time the game ended, Sasaki’s three-inning start seemed like a murky nightmare the Dodgers awoke from in a sweat.
    — Liana Handler Follow, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2026
Definition of murky
Adjective
  • Yet whether van Dijk will still be in uniform in 2030 is unclear, making this a chance the Netherlands can’t afford to lose.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 30 June 2026
  • Any plan for data retention policies remains troublingly unclear, and there’s seemingly been no privacy impact assessment weighing the privacy implications of centralizing so much sensitive data in the White House, the Guardian reported.
    — Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 30 June 2026
Definition of unclear

Browse Nearby Words

unknowability
unknowable
unknowing
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Cite this Entry

“Unknowable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unknowable. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on unknowable

Nglish: Translation of unknowable for Spanish Speakers

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