Word Study
inconceivable
CIDE DICTIONARY
inconceivable, a. [Pref. in- not + conceivable: cf. F. inconcevable.].
Not conceivable; incapable of being conceived by the mind; not explicable by the human intellect, or by any known principles or agencies; incomprehensible; as, it is inconceivable to us how the will acts in producing muscular motion. [1913 Webster]
"It is inconceivable to me that a spiritual substance should represent an extended figure."
"The inconceivableness of a quality existing without any subject to possess it." [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
inconceivable, adj.
1 that cannot be imagined.
2 colloq. very remarkable.
1 that cannot be imagined.
2 colloq. very remarkable.
Derivative
inconceivability n. inconceivableness n. inconceivably adv.
THESAURUS
inconceivable
a bit thick, a bit thin, absurd, antic, barred, beguiling, bewildering, beyond belief, closed-out, contrary to reason, doubtable, doubtful, dubious, dubitable, enigmatic, exceptional, excluded, extraordinary, fabulous, fanciful, fantastic, fascinating, hard of belief, hard to believe, hopeless, implausible, impossible, incomprehensible, incredible, logically impossible, marvelous, mind-boggling, miraculous, not deserving belief, not possible, open to doubt, open to suspicion, outlandish, overwhelming, oxymoronic, paradoxical, passing belief, passing strange, phenomenal, preposterous, problematic, prodigious, prohibited, puzzling, questionable, rare, remarkable, ridiculous, ruled-out, self-contradictory, sensational, staggering, staggering belief, strange, striking, stupendous, suspect, suspicious, tall, thick, thin, unaccountable, unbelievable, unconvincing, unearthly, unexpected, ungodly, unheard-of, unimaginable, unique, unknowable, unprecedented, unthinkable, unworthy of belief, weak, wonderful, wondrousROGET THESAURUS
inconceivable
Size
N size, magnitude, dimension, bulk, volume, largeness, greatness, expanse, amplitude, mass, proportions, capacity, tonnage, tunnage, cordage, caliber, scantling, turgidity, corpulence, obesity, plumpness, embonpoint, corporation, flesh and blood, lustihood, hugeness, enormity, immensity, monstrosity, giant, Brobdingnagian, Antaeus, Goliath, Gog and Magog, Gargantua, monster, mammoth, Cyclops, cachalot, whale, porpoise, behemoth, leviathan, elephant, hippopotamus, colossus, tun, cord, lump, bulk, block, loaf, mass, swad, clod, nugget, bushel, thumper, whooper, spanker, strapper, Triton among the minnows, mountain, mound, heap, largest portion, full size, life size, large, big, great, considerable, bulky, voluminous, ample, massive, massy, capacious, comprehensive, spacious, mighty, towering, fine, magnificent, corpulent, stout, fat, obese, plump, squab, full, lusty, strapping, bouncing, portly, burly, well-fed, full-grown, corn fed, gram fed, stalwart, brawny, fleshy, goodly, in good case, in good condition, in condition, chopping, jolly, chub faced, chubby faced, lubberly, hulky, unwieldy, lumpish, gaunt, spanking, whacking, whopping, walloping, thumping, thundering, hulking, overgrown, puffy, huge, immense, enormous, mighty, vast, vasty, amplitudinous, stupendous, monster, monstrous, humongous, monumental, elephantine, jumbo, mammoth, gigantic, gigantean, giant, giant like, titanic, prodigious, colossal, Cyclopean, Brobdingnagian, Bunyanesque, Herculean, Gargantuan, infinite, large as life, plump as a dumpling, plump as a partridge, fat as a pig, fat as a quail, fat as butter, fat as brawn, fat as bacon, immeasurable, unfathomable, unplumbed, inconceivable, unimaginable, unheard-of, of cosmic proportions, of epic proportions, the mother of all, teh granddaddy of all.Wonder
N wonder, marvel, astonishment, amazement, wonderment, bewilderment, amazedness, admiration, awe, stupor, stupefaction, stound, fascination, sensation, surprise, note of admiration, thaumaturgy, surprised, aghast, all agog, breathless, agape, open- mouthed, awestruck, thunderstruck, moonstruck, planet-struck, spellbound, lost in amazement, lost in wonder, lost in astonishment, struck all of a heap, unable to believe one's senses, like a duck ion thunder, wonderful, wondrous, surprising, unexpected, unheard of, mysterious, miraculous, indescribable, inexpressible, inaffable, unutterable, unspeakable, monstrous, prodigious, stupendous, marvelous, inconceivable, incredible, inimaginable, unimaginable, strange, passing strange, striking, overwhelming, wonder-working, wonderfully fearfully, for a wonder, in the name of wonder, strange to say, mirabile dictu, mirabile visu, to one's great surprise, with wonder, with gaping mouth, with open eyes, with upturned eyes, Int, lo, lo and behold!, O!, heyday!, halloo!, what!, indeed!, really!, surely!, humph!, hem!, good lack, good heavens, good gracious!, Ye gods!, good Lord!, good grief!, Holy cow!, My word!, Holy shit!, gad so!, welladay!, dear me!, only think!, lackadaisy!, my stars, my goodness!, gracious goodness!, goodness gracious!, mercy on us!, heavens and earth!, God bless me!, bless us, bless my heart!, odzookens!, O gemini!, adzooks!, hoity-toity!, strong!, Heaven save the mark, bless the mark!, can such things be!, zounds!, 'sdeath!, what on earth, what in the world!, who would have thought it!, you don't say so!, You're kidding!, No kidding? what do you say to that!, nous verrons!, how now!, where am I?, vox faucibus haesit, one's hair standing on end.Impossibility
N impossibility, what cannot, what can never be, sour grapes, hopelessness, impossible, not possible, absurd, contrary to reason, unlikely, unreasonable, incredible, beyond the bounds of reason, beyond the bounds of possibility, beyond the realm of possibility, from which reason recoils, visionary, inconceivable, prodigious, unimaginable, inimaginable, unthinkable, impracticable unachievable, unfeasible, infeasible, insuperable, unsurmountable, insurmountable, unattainable, unobtainable, out of reach, out of the question, not to be had, not to be thought of, beyond control, desperate, incompatible, inaccessible, uncomeatable, impassable, impervious, innavigable, inextricable, self- contradictory, out of one's power, beyond one's power, beyond one's depth, beyond one's reach, beyond one's grasp, too much for, ultra crepidam, the grapes are sour, non possumus, non nostrum tantas componere lites, look for a needle in a haystack, chercher une aiguille dans une botte de foin, il a le mer +a boire.Improbability
N improbability, unlikelihood, unfavorable chance, bad chance, ghost of a chance, little chance, small chance, poor chance, scarcely any chance, no chance, bare possibility, long odds, incredibility, improbable, unlikely, contrary to all reasonable expectation, wild, far out, out of sight, outtasight, heavy, rare, unheard of, inconceivable, unimaginable, inimaginable, incredible, more than doubtful, strange, bizarre (uncomformable), the chances are against, aquila non capit muscas, pedir peras pal olmo.Doubt
N unbelief doubt, unbelief, disbelief, misbelief, discredit, miscreance, infidelity, dissent, change of opinion, retraction, doubt, skepticism, scepticism, misgiving, demure, distrust, mistrust, cynicism, misdoubt, suspicion, jealousy, scruple, qualm, onus probandi, incredibility, incredibleness, incredulity, doubter, skeptic, cynic, unbeliever, unbelieving, skeptical, sceptical, incredulous as to, skeptical as to, distrustful as to, shy as to, suspicious of, doubting, doubtful, disputable, unworthy of, undeserving of belief, questionable, suspect, suspicious, open to suspicion, open to doubt, staggering, hard to believe, incredible, unbelievable, not to be believed, inconceivable, impossible, fallible, undemonstrable, controvertible, cum grano salis, with a grain of salt, with grains of allowance, fronti nulla fides, nimium ne crede colori, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes, I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts, beware of Greeks bearing gifts, credat Judaeus Apella, let those believe who may, ad tristem partem stenua est suspicio.Unintelligibility
N unintelligibility, incomprehensibility, imperspicuity, inconceivableness, vagueness, obscurity, ambiguity, doubtful meaning, uncertainty, perplexity, spinosity, obscurum per obscurius, mystification, latency, transcendentalism, paradox, oxymoron, riddle, enigma, puzzle, diagnus vindice nodus, sealed book, steganography, freemasonry, pons asinorum, asses' bridge, high Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, jargon, unintelligible, unaccountable, undecipherable, undiscoverable, unknowable, unfathomable, incognizable, inexplicable, inscrutable, inapprehensible, incomprehensible, insolvable, insoluble, impenetrable, illegible, as Greek to one, unexplained, paradoxical, enigmatic, enigmatical, puzzling (secret), indecipherable, obscure, dark, muddy, clear as mud, seen through a mist, dim, nebulous, shrouded in mystery, opaque, dense, undiscernible, misty, hidden, latent, indefinite, garbled, perplexed, undetermined, vague, loose, ambiguous, mysterious, mystic, mystical, acroamatic, acroamatical, metempirical, transcendental, occult, recondite, abstruse, crabbed, inconceivable, inconceptible, searchless, above comprehension, beyond comprehension, past comprehension, beyond one's depth, unconceived, inexpressible, undefinable, incommunicable, unpredictable, unforeseeable, it's Greek to me.For further exploring for "inconceivable" in Webster Dictionary Online