Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Unspeakable |
UnspeakableAdjective1. Defying expression or description; "indefinable yearnings"; "indescribable beauty"; "ineffable ecstasy"; "inexpressible anguish"; "unspeakable happiness"; "unutterable contempt"; "a thing of untellable splendor". 2. Exceptionally bad or displeasing; "atrocious taste"; "abominable workmanship"; "an awful voice"; "dreadful manners"; "a painful performance"; "terrible handwriting"; "an unspeakable odor came sweeping into the room". 3. Too sacred to be uttered; "the ineffable name of the Deity". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "unspeakable" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1350. (references) |
Note: Unspeakable \Un*speak"a*ble\, adjective. [Prefix un- not speakable.]. (references) |
Synonyms: UnspeakableSynonyms: abominable (adj), atrocious (adj), awful (adj), dreadful (adj), indefinable (adj), indescribable (adj), ineffable (adj), painful (adj), terrible (adj), unnameable (adj), untellable (adj), unutterable (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Greatness | Unlimited; (infinite); unapproachable, unutterable, indescribable, ineffable, unspeakable, inexpressible, beyond expression, fabulous. |
Wonder | Indescribable, inexpressible, inaffable; unutterable, unspeakable. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Unspeakable |
| English words defined with "unspeakable": abominable, atrocious, awful ♦ dreadful ♦ Indicible ♦ painful ♦ terrible ♦ Un-. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "unspeakable": FLY. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | All right yes, date, and hang out and go to school and save the world from unspeakable demons (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer) Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape shifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil (Samurai Jack; writing credit: Paul Waite) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Unspeakable (2001) The Unspeakable (1996) Unspeakable Acts (1990) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Theater & Movies | |||
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Victor Hugo | When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age. |
Virgil | Unspeakable, O Queen, is the sorrow you bid me renew. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Unspeakable thoughts thus gathered in his mind the whole day. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | But the sulphurous brimstone which burns in hell is a substance which is specially designed to burn for ever and for ever with unspeakable fury |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | FLY-:SPECK:, n. The prototype of punctuation. It is observed by Garvinus that the systems of punctuation in use by the various literary nations depended originally upon the social habits and general diet of the flies infesting the several countries. These creatures, which have always been distinguished for a neighborly and companionable familiarity with authors, liberally or niggardly embellish the manuscripts in process of growth under the pen, according to their bodily habit, bringing out the sense of the work by a species of interpretation superior to, and independent of, the writer's powers. The "old masters" of literature -- that is to say, the early writers whose work is so esteemed by later scribes and critics in the same language -- never punctuated at all, but worked right along free-handed, without that abruption of the thought which comes from the use of points. (We observe the same thing in children to-day, whose usage in this particular is a striking and beautiful instance of the law that the infancy of individuals reproduces the methods and stages of development characterizing the infancy of races.) In the work of these primitive scribes all the punctuation is found, by the modern investigator with his optical instruments and chemical tests, to have been inserted by the writers' ingenious and serviceable collaborator, the common house-fly -- Musca maledicta. In transcribing these ancient MSS, for the purpose of either making the work their own or preserving what they naturally regard as divine revelations, later writers reverently and accurately copy whatever marks they find upon the papyrus or parchment, to the unspeakable enhancement of the lucidity of the thought and value of the work. Writers contemporary with the copyists naturally avail themselves of the obvious advantages of these marks in their own work, and with such assistance as the flies of their own household may be willing to grant, frequently rival and sometimes surpass the older compositions, in respect at least of punctuation, which is no small glory. Fully to understand the important services that flies perform to literature it is only necessary to lay a page of some popular novelist alongside a saucer of cream-and-molasses in a sunny room and observe "how the wit brightens and the style refines" in accurate proportion to the duration of exposure. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Unspeakable" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 99.10% of the time. "Unspeakable" is used about 111 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 99.1% | 110 | 30,952 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.9% | 1 | 339,140 |
| Total | 100.00% | 111 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "unspeakable": unspeakable happiness ♦ unspeakable word ♦ unspeakable words. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
unspeakable | 23 |
unspeakable joy | 5 |
movie unspeakable | 4 |
ace base unspeakable | 4 |
joy lyrics unspeakable | 3 |
act of the unspeakable | 3 |
mp3 unspeakable | 2 |
bell speakable unspeakable | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "unspeakable"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | shumë i keq (dreadful), i pashprehur (ineffable, inexpressible, unsaid, unspoken, unvoiced). (various references) | |
Arabic | لا يوصف (indescribable, ineffable, nondescript, unutterable), لا يصح ذكره (unmentionable), على نحو رديء جدا. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | отвратителен (abhorrent, abominable, accursed, accurst, atrocious, awful, beastly, bestial, carrion, creepy, cursed, damnable, detestable, disgustful, disgusting, distasteful, execrable, foul, fulsome, gruesome, hateful, heinous, hideous, horrible, ill-favored, ill-favoured, infamous, loathsome, lousy, miserable, morbid, nasty, nauseous, noisome, odious, offensive, punk, putrid, rank, repellent, revolting, rotten, septic, shocking, sickening, ugly, unholy, unsavory, unsavoury, villainous, wicked), неописуем (indescribable, inexpressible, nameless, unutterable), неизразим (inarticulate, incommunicable, ineffable, nameless, speechless, unutterable), неизказан (ineffable, inexplicit, inexpressible, mental, silent, unsaid, unspoken, untold, unutterable, unvoiced). (various references) | |
Chinese | 难以说出口, 無法形容 (indescribable). (various references) | |
Czech | příšerný (appalling, atrocious, blinding, chronic, creepy, damnable, dreadful, excruciating, fearful, fiendish, ghastly, grisly, gruesome, horrendous, terrible, terrific, unholy, villainous, weird), ohavný (abominable, despicable, detestable, execrable, ghastly, heinous, hideous, horrendous, horrid, odious, ugly, vile, villainous), nevýslovný (ineffable, inexpressible, untold, unutterable), hanebný (deplorable, discreditable, disgraceful, dishonorable, dishonourable, heinous, horrendous, ignoble, ignominious, nasty, nefarious, scurvy, shameful, sordid, squalid, vile, villainous). (various references) | |
Farsi | ناگفتنی (Inexpressible), غیرقابل بیان (Inexpressible), توصیف ناپذیر (Indescribable). (various references) | |
Finnish | sanomaton (inexpressible, unutterable). (various references) | |
French | ineffable, indicible (unutterable), indescriptible. (various references) | |
German | unsäglich (inexpressibly, untold, unutterable, unutterably), unsagbar (inexpressible, unnamable, unnameable, unspeakably, untold, untoldly, unutterable). (various references) | |
Greek | άρρητοσ (surdic, unsaid), ακατονόμαστοσ (unnamed), ανείπωτοσ (ineffable, unsaid, untold), αδιήγητοσ (indescribable). (various references) | |
Hungarian | kimondhatatlanul rossz, kimondhatatlan (beyond expression, extreme, ineffable, inexpressible, nefandous, unutterable), eléggé el nem ítélhető (beyond words, unjustifiable, unqualifiable). (various references) | |
Italian | inqualificabile (deplorable, unmarkable), indicibile (inexspressible, nameless, untold, unutterable). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 言うに言われぬ (beyond expression, indescribable, inexpressible). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | いうにいわれぬ (beyond expression, indescribable, inexpressible). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | eakableunspay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | inexprimível (unutterable), inefável, indizível (unutterable), indescritível (unutterable). (various references) | |
Romanian | rãu (Amiss, atrocious, awkward, awry, bad, bad for, bad-hearted, badly, baleful, black, bum, corrupt, depraved, evil, flagitious, foul, haggish, harm, ill, immoral, lousy, malefic, maleficent, malicious, malign, mischief, mischievous, miserable, naughty, perverse, rough, scoundrel, sickness, thin, useless, venomous, vicious, vile, wicked, wretched, wrong), negrãit, indicibil, incalificabil (unqualifiable). (various references) | |
Russian | невыразимый (ineffable, inexpressible, inexpressive, speechless, unutterable). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | neopisiv (indescribable, ineffable, nondescript, termless, untold), neizreciv (unutterable). (various references) | |
Spanish | indecible (nameless, unmentionable, untold, unutterable). (various references) | |
Swedish | outsäglig (ineffable, inexpressible, nameless, unutterable). (various references) | |
Turkish | söylenemez (ineffable, unutterable), kelimelerle anlatılmaz (it baffles description, it beggars description), ağza alınmaz (unmentionable, unpronouncable, unutterable). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | невимовний (ineffable, inexpressible, nameless, speechless, unutterable), непривабливий (graceless, repulsive, unattractive, uninviting, unlikely). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | không thể nói được, không diễn t được; không t xiết. (various references) | |
Welsh | anhraethol (ineffable). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | infandorum. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | 2 Corinthians Chapter 9, Verse 15 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | CariV de tw qew epi th anekdihghtw autou dwrea |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Gratias Deo super inenarrabili dono eius |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | Y do thankyngis to God of the yifte of hym, that may not be teld. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | Thankes be vnto God for his vn speakeable gyft. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Praise be to God for what he has given, which words have no power to say. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | 2 Corinthians Chapter 9, Verse 15 |
| Cebuano | Salamat sa Dios tungod sa iyang gasa nga dili maasoy sa pulong. |
| Croatian | Hvala Bogu na njegovu neizrecivom daru! |
| Danish | Gud ske Tak for hans uudsigelige Gave! |
| Dutch | Doch Gode zij dank voor Zijn onuitsprekelijke gave. |
| French | Grâces soient rendues Dieu pour son don ineffable! |
| German | Gott aber sei Dank für seine unaussprechliche Gabe! |
| Haitian Creole | Ann di Bondye mèsi pou gwo kado sa a li ban nou, yon kado ki pa gen parèy li! |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Hendaklah kita bersyukur kepada Allah atas pemberian-Nya yang luar biasa itu! |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Syukurlah kepada Allah sebab anugerah-Nya yang tiada terkira-kira itu. |
| Italian | Grazie a Dio per questo suo ineffabile dono! |
| Korean | 말 수 없 " 그 의 은 사 를 인 하 여 하 나 님 께 감 사 하 노 라 |
| Maori | Me whakawhetai ki te Atua mo tana mea homai noa, e kore nei e taea te korero. |
| Norwegian | Gud være takk for sin usigelige gave! |
| Portuguese | Graças a Deus pelo seu dom inefável. |
| Rumanian | Mulyqmiri fie aduse lui Dumnezeu pentru darul Lui nespus de mare! |
| Shuar | ¡Tura Ashí iisha ii Yusri ti yuminsatniuitji! ¿In Súramjinia nuna yaki Jintíartinian Jeá? |
| Spanish | ¡Gracias a Dios por su don inefable! |
| Swahili | Tumshukuru Mungu kwa ajili ya zawadi yake isiyo na kifani! |
| Swedish | Ja, Gud vare tack för hans outsägligt rika gåva! |
| Uma | Natao lia-ta mpo'uli' tarima kasi hi Alata'ala, apa' uma hudu ta'uli' kabohe pewai' -na hi kita'! |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "unspeakable" (pronounced unspē"kubul) |
| 5 | -k u b u l | amicable, applicable, bankable, breakable, communicable, despicable, drinkable, impeccable, implacable, impracticable, inapplicable, talkable, irrevocable, likable, likeable, practicable, remarkable, revocable, unmistakable, unremarkable, unshakable, unsinkable, unthinkable, unworkable, workable. |
| 4 | -u b u l | incurable, indefatigable, indefensible, indefinable, indelible, indescribable, indestructible, indispensable, indisputable, indistinguishable, indivisible, indomitable, inedible, ineffable, ineligible, inequitable, inescapable, inevitable, inexcusable, inexhaustible, inexorable, inexplicable, infallible, infeasible, inflammable, inflatable, acceptable, accessible, abominable, accountable, achievable, actionable, adaptable, addressable, adjustable, admirable, admissible, adoptable, adorable, advisable, affable, affordable, agreeable, allowable, amenable, amendable, amiable, analyzable, answerable, appealable, appreciable, approachable, approvable, arable, arguable, attainable, attributable, audible, available, avoidable, bearable, believable, billable, biodegradable, buildable, burnable, callable, cannibal, capable, changeable, chargeable, charitable, classifiable, collapsible, collectible, Combinable, comfortable, commendable, comparable, compatible, compensable, comprehensible, conceivable, confirmable, considerable, constable, consumable, contemptible, contestable, controllable, convertible, copyrightable, countable, credible, creditable, crucible, culpable, curable, debatable, deductible, defensible, definable, degradable, delectable, deliverable, demonstrable, dependable, deplorable, deployable, depreciable, describable, desirable, detachable, detectable, determinable, developable, digestible, disagreeable, discernible, discountable, discoverable, dishonorable, dispensable, disposable, disreputable, distinguishable, divisible, doable, drivable, durable, eatable, edible, electable, eligible, Embraceable, employable, enforceable, enjoyable, enviable, equable, equitable, erasable, erodible, estimable, exchangeable, excitable, excludable, excusable, execrable, exercisable, expandable, expendable, explainable, exportable, extendable, extendible, fallible, fashionable, fathomable, favorable, feasible, fissionable, fixable, flammable, flexible, forcible, foreseeable, forfeitable, forgettable, forgivable, formidable, fungible, fusible, gullible, habitable, harvestable, heritable, hon, honorable, horrible, hospitable, identifiable, illegible, imaginable, imitable, immiscible, immovable, immutable, impassable, impeachable, impenetrable, imperceptible, impermissible, implantable, implausible, imponderable, impossible, impregnable, impressionable, improbable, inaccessible, inadmissible, inadvisable, inalienable, inaudible, incalculable, incapable, incomparable, incompatible, incomprehensible, incompressible, inconceivable, incontrovertible, incorrigible, incredible, soluble, solvable, spendable, submersible, suggestible, suitable, supportable, survivable, susceptible, sustainable, syllable, tangible, taxable, teachable, tenable, terrible, inflexible, inheritable, inhospitable, inimitable, injectable, innumerable, inoperable, insatiable, inscrutable, inseparable, insoluble, insufferable, insupportable, insurmountable, intangible, intelligible, interchangeable, interminable, interruptible, intolerable, intractable, invaluable, investable, invincible, inviolable, invisible, invulnerable, irascible, irreconcilable, irrefutable, irremediable, irreparable, irreplaceable, irrepressible, irresistible, irresponsible, irreversible, irritable, issuable, justifiable, knowledgeable, lamentable, laudable, laughable, leasable, legible, liable, livable, lovable, malleable, manageable, mandible, maneuverable, marketable, measurable, memorable, microwavable, miscible, miserable, moldable, movable, navigable, negligible, negotiable, noncallable, nonconvertible, nondeductible, nondurable, nonrefundable, nonrenewable, nontaxable, nontransferable, notable, noticeable, objectionable, observable, obtainable, operable, ostensible, palatable, palpable, parable, passable, patentable, payable, peaceable, perceptible, perishable, permeable, permissible, personable, persuadable, pitiable, plausible, pleasurable, pliable, portable, possible, potable, predictable, preferable, presentable, preventable, printable, probable, profitable, programmable, prosecutable, provable, punishable, questionable, quotable, reachable, readable, realizable, reasonable, receivable, rechargeable, recognizable, recordable, recoverable, recyclable, redeemable, redoubtable, reducible, refundable, regrettable, reliable, removable, renewable, rentable, repairable, repayable, repeatable, replaceable, reportable, reprehensible, reputable, resealable, resettable, respectable, responsible, retractable, returnable, reusable, reversible, ridable, salable, saleable, salvageable, seasonable, sensible, serviceable, sizable, sizeable, sociable, tolerable, traceable, tractable, tradable, tradeable, trainable, transferable, transferrable, transmittable, transportable, treatable, tunable, typeable, unacceptable, unaccountable, unaffordable, unalienable, unalterable, unanswerable, unassailable, unattainable, unavailable, unavoidable, unbearable, unbeatable, unbelievable, unbuildable, uncollectible, uncomfortable, unconscionable, uncontrollable, undeniable, understandable, undesirable, undetectable, unelectable, unemployable, unenforceable, unenviable, unexplainable, unfashionable, unfathomable, unfavorable, unfeasible, unflappable, unforeseeable, unforgettable, unforgivable, ungovernable, unimaginable, unimpeachable, uninhabitable, uninsurable, unintelligible, unjustifiable, unknowable, unlivable, unmanageable, unmentionable, unobtainable, unpalatable, unpredictable, unprintable, unprofitable, unquestionable, unreachable, unreadable, unreasonable, unrecognizable, unreliable, unsalable, unsolvable, unstoppable, unsuitable, unsupportable, unsustainable, untenable, untouchable, untraceable, unusable, unverifiable, unwinnable, usable, variable, vegetable, venerable, verifiable, veritable, viable, visible, voluble, vulnerable, washable, wearable, winnable. |
| 3 | -b u l | able, amble, assemble, babble, Babel, bauble, bible, bramble, bubble, Bumble, cable, cobble, coble, corbel, crumble, cymbal, dabble, Dibble, disable, disassemble, dissemble, double, Drabble, dribble, enable, enfeeble, ennoble, ensemble, fable, feeble, foible, fumble, gable, gamble, Garble, global, gobble, Gribble, grumble, hardscrabble, herbal, hobble, humble, ignoble, immeasurable, immobile, squabble, Stabile, stable, stubble, stumble, symbol, table, intertribal, jumble, kibble, label, libel, marble, mislabel, mobile, mumble, nibble, nimble, noble, nonverbal, pebble, preamble, psychobabble, quibble, rabble, ramble, reassemble, rebel, redouble, relabel, resemble, Roble, rouble, roundtable, rubble, Ruble, rumble, sable, Scrabble, scramble, scribble, shamble, Sibyl, thimble, timetable, treble, tremble, tribal, trouble, tubal, tumble, turntable, umbel, unable, unscramble, unserviceable, unstable, valuable, verbal, wamble, wobble. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-a-b-e-e-k-l-n-p-s-u" | |
-2 letters: speakable. | |
-3 letters: anableps, seaplane, spelaean, subpanel. | |
-4 letters: alkanes, alkenes, baleens, beleaps, bespake, bespeak, enables, eupneas, nebulae, nebulas, spelean, spelunk, subpena, unspeak, useable. | |
-5 letters: abeles, aeneus, akelas, akenes, alkane, alkene, aneles, ankles, apneal, apneas, asleep, baleen, baulks, beleap, blanks, bleaks, bleeps, elapse, enable, eupnea, kalpas, keleps, kneels, lauans, lebens, nausea, nebula, nebule, paeans, paesan, paleae. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Quotations: Familiar 7. Quotations: Fiction 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Translations: Ancient 14. Bible Trace 15. Rhymes 16. Anagrams | 17. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
