inconceivable
/,inkən'si:vəbl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Impossible to imagine or believe: Describes something so unlikely, extraordinary, or contrary to reason that it cannot be formed in the mind or accepted as possible.
- Utterly improbable: Indicates that something is so far from being possible that it can be dismissed as a realistic consideration.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective:
- The idea of life on that planet was once considered inconceivable.
- It is inconceivable that she would ever break her promise.
- To people a century ago, a smartphone would have seemed an inconceivable technology.
Advanced Usage
- "beyond the inconceivable": Used for emphasis to describe something even more unimaginable than what is already considered impossible to conceive.
- The scale of the universe is often described as beyond the inconceivable.
- "render something inconceivable": To make something impossible to imagine or consider.
- The new evidence rendered the old theory inconceivable.
Variants and Related Words
- Inconceivability (noun): The quality or state of being inconceivable.
- The inconceivability of the event made it a shocking news story.
- Inconceivably (adverb): In a manner that is impossible to imagine or believe.
- The task was inconceivably difficult.
Synonyms
- Unimaginable: Incapable of being imagined or conceived mentally.
- Unthinkable: Not capable of being considered as a possibility.
- Incredible: So extraordinary as to seem impossible (can also mean "amazing" in a positive sense).
Antonyms
- Conceivable: Capable of being imagined or grasped mentally.
- Plausible: Seeming reasonable or probable.
- Imaginable: Capable of being imagined.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- "The inconceivable has happened": Used to express shock when something thought to be utterly impossible actually occurs.
- After the underdog team won the championship, everyone said the inconceivable had happened.
Adjective
- totally unlikely