ineffable
adjective/ in-EFF-uh-bul /
Too great, too beautiful, or too intense to be expressed in words. Beyond description. Simply unspeakable — in the best possible way.
In a sentence
"The Northern Lights spread across the sky in colours she had no words for — the whole experience was, in the truest sense, ineffable."
Bex's take
The British are obsessed with understatement — 'not bad,' 'quite nice,' 'rather lovely' — so I find it deeply charming that even the English language had to admit defeat with some feelings and say: right, we simply cannot. Ineffable. Done.
Where it comes from
From Latin ineffabilis — in (not) + effari (to speak out). Used in English since the 14th century, originally in religious contexts to describe the divine.
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What does ineffable mean?
Too great, too beautiful, or too intense to be expressed in words. Beyond description. Simply unspeakable — in the best possible way.
How do you pronounce ineffable?
ineffable is pronounced /in-EFF-uh-bul/.
How do you use ineffable in a sentence?
The Northern Lights spread across the sky in colours she had no words for — the whole experience was, in the truest sense, ineffable.
Where does ineffable come from?
From Latin ineffabilis — in (not) + effari (to speak out). Used in English since the 14th century, originally in religious contexts to describe the divine.