inscrutable

adjective

in-ˈskrü-tə-bəl How to pronounce inscrutable (audio)
Definition of inscrutablenext
1
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain the many inscrutable beliefs of that ancient religion

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning ancient oracles typically uttered inscrutable prophecies that could be interpreted almost any way one chose

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 inscrutable Mars forms a challenging square to Saturn on September 1, putting pressure on your deadlines and stressing you out with weird, inscrutable coworker aggression. — Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026 But, practically speaking, none of it is imaginable or executable without digital technologies that are fundamentally black-boxed, inscrutable to individual cops on the beat and institutional decision-makers alike. — Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026 Up in the directors’ box, sporting director Andrea Berta wore an inscrutable expression as the game flowed. — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026 Don’t worry — no spoilers here, because the ongoing plot is far too detailed and inscrutable anyway for one overnight concert review. — Brian McCollum, Freep.com, 22 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inscrutable
  1. mysterious
  2. ambiguous
  3. cryptic
  4. obscure
  5. enigmatic
  6. dark
  7. uncanny
  8. mystic
Adjective
  • Yeoh plays Olwen, a replicant Blade Runner nearing the end of her life, who partners with Schafer’s Cora, a mysterious new recruit.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
  • New research suggests the ‘world’s most mysterious manuscript,’ of unknown provenance, made in the Middle Ages (1404–38), is being read all wrong, reports The Guardian.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of mysterious
Adjective
  • In fact, mathematicians already know that knots of two or more links have ambiguous polynomials.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Because a decision appears to have been made in the Salvadoran case, then paused, without any public clarification, the situation is more ambiguous.
    — Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of ambiguous
Adjective
  • Emanuel’s cryptic comment comes amid claims that Meghan was in early talks to star in the third season of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix series The Gentlemen.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 30 Sep. 2026
  • As for what’s going on with the cryptic buying up of team shares, that remains an ongoing mystery for much of the episode — one that ends without Higgins and Rebecca finding out who’s really behind the shenanigans.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of cryptic
Adjective
  • Other researchers were hunting the agents online and finding traces of them on obscure message boards.
    — Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Akhtar is at his best here because the sensations remain vivid even when their significance is obscure.
    — Zain Khalid, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of obscure
Adjective
  • Disrupting their lives is an enigmatic woman named Cathy Ames, who Adam marries and who gives birth to Cal and Aron.
    — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
  • But of the leaders of those three mega-bands, perhaps the most mysterious remains Pete Townshend, The Who’s songwriter and enigmatic eminence, thrashing chords and smashing guitars while Roger Daltrey handled lead vocals.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of enigmatic
Adjective
  • There’s nothing about the white bedding, dark-wood furniture, and tan carpeting that will knock your socks off—but nothing that will make your toes curl, either.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Guadagnino and screenwriter Simon Rich mold the material from dark humor through technocratic giddiness to sobering horror.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of dark
Adjective
  • Books that get called weird girl lit tend to deal in uncanny or dreamlike circumstances.
    — Abby McCarter, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Phoebe Bridgers, in her first film role, pulls off an uncanny transformation as a decoy who bends lines of age and gender.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of uncanny
Adjective
  • Two translations—of poems by the Indian mystic Mirabai and the contemporary Romanian poet Radu Vancu—seek to inhabit and transcend the history that holds up the present.
    — Craig Morgan Teicher, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Rumi is also the name of a very famous 13th-century Persian poet and mystic.
    — Sarah Scott, Parents, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of mystic

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inscrutability
inscrutable
inscrutableness
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Cite this Entry

“Inscrutable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inscrutable. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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