unpenetrableadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈpɛnᵻtrəbl/, U.S. /ˌənˈpɛnətrəb(ə)l/ Incapable of being penetrated; impenetrable.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming in > [adjective] > penetrating > able to be penetrated > not
unpenetrablec1425
impenetrablea1464
unpierceablec1480
pierceless1755
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > [adjective]
uncouthc897
unnimlyc1225
incomprehensiblea1340
unsearchablec1384
unknowable?c1400
investigablea1425
uncomprehensiblea1425
unthinkablec1445
imperscrutablec1450
inscrutablec1450
inopinable?a1475
incomprenable1502
unspectable?1504
incogitablec1522
uncogitable1529
impenetrable1531
inimaginable1534
inexplicable1555
unsensible1555
unscrutable1562
unfashionable1563
unpenetrable1581
unexcogitable1592
ineffable1598
inexcogitable1599
indivinable1603
ininvestigable1604
incapable1605
searchless?1606
uncomprehensive1609
unconceivable1611
undivinable1611
unimaginable1611
unexplicable1615
unintelligible1616
unapprehensible?1617
unfathomable1617
imprehensible1622
ununderstandablea1631
indeprehensible1633
indiscernible1635
inscrute1639
inapprehensiblea1641
indiscoverable1640
unexaminable1641
impervestigable1643
fathomless1645
inconceivable1646
indeterminable1646
inexplorable1646
insearchable1647
incomprehended1652
comprehendlessa1654
incomprehensive1656
untraceable1661
uninvestigablea1677
unintelligent1683
incognoscible1691
thought-transcendinga1711
uncognizable1720
acataleptic1727
undescriptive1744
elusive1751
impalpable1781
inaccessible1796
unconjecturable1806
uncognoscible1821
unascertainable1827
unfixable1831
unguessable1832
unrealizable1832
unsurveyable1833
hard-shelled1835
unintellective1837
undeemed1845
graspless1849
unconjectured1850
incognizable1852
ungraspable1853
unreadable1853
super-cerebral1854
elusory1856
trans-conscious1865
intangible1880
uncatchable1892
unspelt1892
unplumbable1895
unknowledgeable1920
indiscutable1933
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 17 As yt were with an vnpenytrable scochyn wardid and defendyd.
1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca at Crocodilus An yll beaste, whiche..hath small eyes, very longe tethe.., and the skinne on his backe is vnpenetrable.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius ii. f. 187v God accordyng to his unpenetrable counsell doth determine all thinges.
a1633 G. Herbert Priest to Temple (1652) xxxiv. 152 To them an unpenetrable rock, an unaccessible desert.
1743 W. Guthrie tr. ‘Monsieur de Blainville’ Trav. II. xii. 94 An unpenetrable Barrier against the Turks.
1863 Athenæum 7 Nov. 606/1 A horrible mist still hangs unpenetrated and unpenetrable for ever.
1939 F. Walker San Francisco's Lit. Frontier ii. 32 For weeks the only food was hard, dark hams, unpenetrable to the sharpest knife.
2004 Financial Times 16 July 3/4 Most people take only a passing interest in the often unpenetrable intricacies of the country's railway system.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.c1425