inscrutability
inscrutability — noun
1. a quality of being extremely difficult to read or interpret, especially when a p
a quality of being extremely difficult to read or interpret, especially when a person's face and manner reveal nothing of their true thoughts
The old ambassador's inscrutability during the talks kept the journalists guessing about the outcome.
possessive + inscrutability + during [event]
Roya found the inscrutability of the abstract painting both frustrating and fascinating.
the inscrutability of [object]
The detective could read nothing from the witness's inscrutability — each answer was utterly blank.
An air of inscrutability hung around the ancient temple, making the tourists lower their voices.
Caleb's inscrutability in meetings frustrated his colleagues, who could not tell if he agreed.
- mysteriousness
less formal, broader — can describe anything hard to explain, not just hidden feelings
- opacity
more metaphorical — suggests a deliberate lack of transparency
- impenetrability
more emphatic — suggests something is completely impossible to understand
- transparency
the quality of being open and easy to read; opposite of hidden thoughts
- clarity
the quality of being clear and easy to understand
文法句型
the inscrutability of [noun]
[possessive] inscrutability
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable; appears most naturally with a possessive ('his inscrutability', 'the witness's inscrutability') or in the pattern 'the inscrutability of [noun]'. Typically used of people, their expressions, or of texts and artworks that resist easy interpretation.