unspeakable
/ʌnˈspiːkəbl/ (bre, ipa) · [ənspˈikəbəl] /ʌnˈspiːkəbl/ (ame, ipa) · [ənspˈikəbəl] /ˌən-ˈspē-kə-bəl How to pronounce unspeakable (audio)/ (ame, mw)
unspeakable — adjective
- unspeakablepositive
- more unspeakablecomparative
- most unspeakablesuperlative
1. so shocking, cruel, or painful that people feel ordinary words cannot face it.
so shocking, cruel, or painful that people feel ordinary words cannot face it.
The report described unspeakable violence against children in the prison camp.
collocation: unspeakable violence / cruelty / suffering
After the flood, Kofi saw unspeakable damage in the riverside market.
Amira carried unspeakable grief after losing both parents in the crash.
The villagers said the soldiers had committed unspeakable acts during the raid.
For many survivors, the memory of the fire remains unspeakable even now.
- horrific
focuses on how frightening or brutal something is
- appalling
stresses the shock or disgust it causes in other people
- atrocious
often used for cruel acts or offensively bad behaviour
- unimaginable
emphasises extreme scale, not the failure of language itself
文法句型
unspeakable + noun
be unspeakable
用法筆記
Usually used for extreme cruelty, loss, shame, or suffering, often before nouns such as 'violence', 'acts', 'grief', or 'horror'. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense stresses horror or pain, not beauty or joy beyond description.
常見錯誤
2. so unusual, powerful, or emotionally deep that words do not seem enough to descr
so unusual, powerful, or emotionally deep that words do not seem enough to describe it.
Élise felt unspeakable relief when the missing child was found safe.
collocation: unspeakable relief / joy / beauty
Standing alone on the cliff, Mateo watched the sea with unspeakable awe.
Hoa could not hide unspeakable joy after the wedding ceremony ended.
The old letter filled Selim with an unspeakable sense of peace.
For Ada, the silence in the temple carried an unspeakable beauty.
- indescribable
the most neutral and everyday choice for something beyond words
- inexpressible
more formal and often used for feelings
- ineffable
more literary or spiritual in tone
- beyond words
an everyday phrase with a similar meaning
- describable
can be put into ordinary words without difficulty
文法句型
unspeakable + abstract noun
be unspeakable
用法筆記
More literary than sense 1 and often used with nouns such as 'joy', 'relief', 'beauty', or 'peace'. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense points to intensity beyond description, not to moral shock or horror.