incalculable
/ɪnˈkælkjələbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪnˈkælkjələbl/ (ame, ipa) · /(ˌ)in-ˈkal-kyə-lə-bəl/ (ame, mw)
incalculable — adjective
- incalculablepositive
- more incalculablecomparative
- most incalculablesuperlative
1. so vast in size, value, or effect that no figure could possibly capture it — use
so vast in size, value, or effect that no figure could possibly capture it — used when something feels beyond any sensible attempt at counting or estimating, such as the worth of a lost manuscript or the harm done by a long war.
The flood caused incalculable damage to the rice fields around Tanvi's village.
attributive: incalculable + abstract noun (damage)
Felipe argued that the old library held books of incalculable value to historians.
collocation: of incalculable value
Losing the only copy of the recording would be an incalculable blow to the museum.
Ezra said the harm to the coral reef from the oil spill was simply incalculable.
The number of bees that died after the heatwave reached an incalculable total.
- immeasurable
near-synonym; slightly more formal, often about emotional weight (immeasurable grief)
- untold
common in journalism; emphasises the hidden or unreported scale (untold suffering)
- vast
much more everyday; describes size without the 'beyond counting' nuance
- countless
for discrete items that simply have no fixed number (countless stars), not for abstract loss
- negligible
implies the amount is small enough to ignore
- measurable
neutral opposite — a figure can be put on it
- trivial
evaluative: not just small but not worth attention
文法句型
incalculable + noun
be + incalculable
用法筆記
Almost always attached to abstract or mass nouns of harm, loss, value, or quantity (damage, harm, loss, value, wealth, suffering, cost). Avoid with small or easily countable things — 'incalculable apples' sounds wrong because apples can be counted, even if the number is large.