unthinkable
/ʌnˈθɪŋkəbl/ (bre, ipa) · [ənθˈɪŋkəbəl] /ʌnˈθɪŋkəbl/ (ame, ipa) · [ənθˈɪŋkəbəl] /ˌən-ˈthiŋ-kə-bəl How to pronounce unthinkable (audio)/ (ame, mw)
unthinkable — 形容詞
- unthinkablepositive
- more unthinkablecomparative
- most unthinkablesuperlative
1. so shocking, terrible, or surprising that you cannot believe it could ever happe
難以想像
極度震驚而無法相信
so shocking, terrible, or surprising that you cannot believe it could ever happen or be true
It was unthinkable for Amelia to leave her sick grandmother alone at the hospital.
對 Amelia 來說，把生病的祖母獨自留在醫院是難以想像的事。
it + be + unthinkable + for + noun + to-infinitive
The villagers considered it unthinkable to build houses on the sacred land.
村民們認為在聖地上蓋房子是難以想像的事。
consider + it + unthinkable + to-infinitive
Twenty years ago, the idea of a cashless society seemed completely unthinkable to most people.
二十年前，對大多數人來說無現金社會的想法似乎完全難以想像。
Rania found it unthinkable that her neighbour would refuse to offer help during the flood.
Rania 覺得她的鄰居在洪水期間拒絕提供幫助是難以想像的。
To the team, losing the final match after leading by three goals was simply unthinkable.
對這支球隊來說，領先三球卻輸掉決賽簡直不堪設想。
- inconceivable
more formal; suggests the idea literally cannot be grasped by the mind
- unimaginable
very close in meaning but slightly less intense; focuses on the inability to form a mental picture
- implausible
weaker; means unlikely or hard to believe, but not truly shocking
- thinkable
rare in everyday speech; used mostly in academic or philosophical contexts
- conceivable
suggests something could possibly happen or exist
- plausible
means reasonable and likely to be true
文法句型
be + unthinkable
it + be + unthinkable + that-clause
it + be + unthinkable + for + noun + to-infinitive
find/consider + it + unthinkable + that-clause/to-infinitive
用法筆記
Common in passive-like constructions where 'it' serves as the grammatical subject. Frequently paired with 'find', 'consider', or 'seem' to express personal judgement. The that-clause pattern emphasises the shocking nature of a specific situation.