incomprehensibility

IPA/ɪnˌkɒmprɪˌhensəˈbɪləti/
IPA/ɪnˌkɑːmprɪˌhensəˈbɪləti/

incomprehensibility — noun

1. the condition in which a text, statement, or situation is so confusing that you

1.nounC1
Definition

the condition in which a text, statement, or situation is so confusing that you cannot understand it at all

Example

Esme stared at the physics formula and shook her head at its incomprehensibility.

uncountable: the incomprehensibility of [something]

The incomprehensibility of the legal contract forced the couple to hire a lawyer.

Common collocations
  • total incomprehensibility
  • wilful incomprehensibility
  • sheer incomprehensibility
Synonyms
  • unintelligibility

    more specific — describes speech or writing that cannot be understood at all, while incomprehensibility can also cover abstract difficulty

  • obscurity

    broader — can mean lack of fame or unclear meaning; less strong than incomprehensibility

  • impenetrability

    metaphorical — suggests a text resists all attempts to understand it, like a wall

Antonyms
  • clarity

    direct opposite — the quality of being easy to understand

  • intelligibility

    direct opposite — the state of being understandable

Grammar Patterns

the incomprehensibility of + noun phrase

Usage Note

Almost always used with 'the' and followed by 'of' + a noun phrase naming the confusing thing. Uncountable — no plural form.

Common Mistakes

The incomprehensibility in the document was clear.
The incomprehensibility of the document was clear.
the correct pattern is 'incomprehensibility of [something]', not 'incomprehensibility in [something]'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Incomprehensibility is the broadest term, describing anything that cannot be understood — from complex academic writing to whispered speech. Unintelligibility focuses specifically on speech or writing that fails to communicate meaning, often because of noise, damage, or poor articulation. Obscurity is milder and suggests something is hard to grasp because it is vague or not well-known, rather than truly impossible to understand. Impenetrability is a vivid metaphor from the idea of a wall you cannot get through; it is used for texts or arguments that resist all attempts at understanding. For example, a foreign language is incomprehensible to a beginner, a faint recording is unintelligible, a poet's private symbolism is obscure, and a badly written academic paper is impenetrable.

unintelligibility ↗obscurity ↗impenetrability ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • the incomprehensibility of it all

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'in-' (not) + 'comprehendere' (to grasp together, understand) + '-ability' (the quality of being able). The word entered English through French in the late 1500s, originally as 'incomprehensibility'. The core idea of 'grasping with the mind' comes from the Latin verb 'comprehendere', which literally means to seize or catch hold of.