unthinkable

unthinkable

English

Etymology

un- +‎ think +‎ -able

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʌnˈθɪŋkəbəl/

Adjective

unthinkable (comparative more unthinkable, superlative most unthinkable)

1. Incapable of being believed; incredible.
2. Inconceivable or unimaginable; extremely improbable in a way that goes against common sense.

   Nothing is unthinkable, nothing impossible to the balanced person, provided it comes out of the needs of life and is dedicated to life's further development - Lewis Mumford

   • 2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup final: New Zealand 8-7 France”, in BBC Sport‎:

     With 16 minutes left on the clock and the tension climbing through the roof, Trinh-Duc tried his luck with a penalty from just inside halfway only to push it wide, but the unthinkable now seemed a real possibility.

Translations

incapable of being believed; incredible

Catalan: impensable Dutch: ondenkbaar (nl) French: incroyable (fr) Georgian: დაუჯერებელი (dauǯerebeli), წარმოუდგენელი (c̣armoudgeneli) German: unvorstellbar (de) Hungarian: hihetetlen (hu) Italian: impensabile (it) Korean: 상상도 할 수 없는 (sangsangdo hal su eomneun)

Norwegian: Nynorsk: utenkjeleg Polish: niewiarygodne Portuguese: impensável Romanian: neimaginabil (ro), de neimaginat, incredibil (ro), negândibil m, imposibil (ro) m Russian: немы́слимый (ru) (nemýslimyj) Swedish: otänkbar (sv) Turkish: düşünülemez

inconceivable or unimaginable; extremely improbable in a way that goes against common sense

Catalan: impensable Finnish: käsittämätön (fi) French: inconcevable (fr), impensable (fr), inimaginable (fr) Georgian: წარმოუდგენელი (c̣armoudgeneli) German: undenkbar, unvorstellbar (de) Greek: αδιανόητος (el) (adianóitos) Hungarian: elképzelhetetlen (hu) Norwegian: Bokmål: utenkelig Nynorsk: utenkeleg, utenkjeleg

Portuguese: impensável Romanian: de neconceput, neconcepibil, inimaginabil (ro), neimaginabil (ro) Russian: немы́слимый (ru) (nemýslimyj) Spanish: impensable (es) Swedish: otänkbar (sv) Turkish: düşünülemez, kavranılamaz

References

• “unthinkable” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.