indescribableadj.n.
/ɪndɪˈskrʌɪbəb(ə)l/ A. adj.
1. That cannot be described; that does not admit of exact description; indefinite, vague.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > not specified > that cannot be described
indescribable1794
unqualifiable1822
indescript1854
1794 Bot. Mag. No. 254 That indescribable something, called by Linnæus the Nectary.
1833 H. Martineau Cinnamon & Pearls i 16 Various sacred indescribable articles were scattered around.
1862 M. Oliphant Last of Mortimers i. xii His voice..had..an occasional indescribable note which reminded me of some other voice.
2. That transcends description; too great, beautiful, etc. to be adequately described.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > very great > and indescribable
untalelyc1225
unspeaking1340
unsayingc1350
untellablea1382
unspeakablea1400
ineffablec1450
unrehearsable1513
unutterablea1586
unrelatable1621
inexpressiblea1631
inexpressive1652
undescribable1728
indescribable1785
untelling1823
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [adjective] > beyond description
undeclarablec1449
not to be spoken of1600
phraseless1609
termless1609
unexpressivea1616
unexprimable1632
wingy1643
unfanciable1669
indescribable1785
unpicturable?1819
unportrayable1852
superinenarrable1873
1785 T. Jefferson Notes Virginia v. 39 The rapture of the spectator is really indescribable.
1817 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. XLII. 366 A Funding System has never existed in any country, without producing indescribable misery.
1880 S. Haughton Six Lect. Physical Geogr. v. 240 Its waters break with indescribable fury.
B. n.
1. plural. Things of which no description can be given.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > and indescribable
what-not1602
watnawhat1725
nondescript1802
indescribability1824
indescribables1839
1839 F. Marryat Diary in Amer. I. 105 Pine-apples, boiled hams, pies, puddings, barley-sugar, and many other indescribables.
1890 Boy's Own-Paper 1 Feb. 278/3 I had to fish out [from a bath] about twenty long-named indescribables that had committed suicide during the night.
2. humorous slang (originally euphemistic). Trousers (cf. inexpressibles, unmentionables at unmentionable n. 1a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers
trouse1678
trousers1681
kicks1699
trousiesa1713
brogues1748
inexpressibles1790
unmentionable1791
et cetera1794
indescribable1794
kickseys1819
ineffables1823
indispensablesa1828
unimaginable1833
pantaloon1834
pants1835
inexplicables1836
never-mention-'ems1836
unwhisperable1837
results1839
sit-down-upons1839
sit-upons1839
unmentionabilities1840
innominablea1843
unutterables1843
trews1847
round-the-houses1857
unprintable1860
stovepipe1863
sit-in-ems1873
reach-me-downs1877
strides1889
rounds1893
long1898
kecks1900
rammies1906
trou1911
pants1970
1794 Sporting Mag. 3 221 That hebdomodal display of Foppery, Frivolity, and Fashion, has already begun to sport its vernal variety of indescribables.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xvi. 163 Mr. Trotter..gave four distinct slaps on the pocket of his mulberry indescribables.
Derivatives
indeˈscribableness n. rare the quality of being indescribable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > inexpressibility > [noun]
unspeakablenessa1586
incommunicableness1615
ineffability1629
incommunicability1640
unexpressibleness1652
ineffableness1681
unutterableness1681
inexpressibleness1727
unexpressibility1817
indescribability1824
inexpressibility1826
unspeakability1845
unnameability1862
indescribableness1880
1880–1 T. K. Cheyne Prophecies of Isaiah (1884) I. 92 His sense of their indescribableness.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1900; most recently modified version published online September 2019).
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adj.n.1785