inconceivablein‧con‧ceiv‧a‧ble /ˌɪnkənˈsiːvəbəl/ AWL adjective 
A few years ago a car fuelled by solar energy would have been inconceivable. It is inconceivable that a man in such a powerful position could act so unwisely.► see thesaurus at impossible—inconceivably adverb
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- It's inconceivable that university officials would fire someone as talented and loyal as Professor Schultz.
- Many people thought it was inconceivable that the crash could have been an accident.
- The amount of time and money they have wasted on the project is inconceivable.
- The slaughter to thousands of innocent US citizens would have been inconceivable until recently.
- When I was a boy, having a bath every day was an inconceivable luxury.
- I have too many rejections in my files, and another would be inconceivable at this time.
- It is inconceivable that any corpus should provide occurrences of all of these possibilities.
- It took Mitchell a second to understand what she had done, this inconceivable act; that she had fouled him.
- Language is central to individual human development; human society is inconceivable without it.
- Life here in this part of Maine is almost inconceivable without wood and woods.
- The opening of a score of nuclear sites in some six years by conventional administrative procedures alone was inconceivable.
- To him it was inconceivable to be at sea without trailing a hook in the water.
- To me it seems inconceivable that a single human life on earth is the beginning and end of it all.
THESAURUS
something that is impossible cannot happen or be done: · It’s impossible to get a taxi around here.· At times, finding a job felt like an impossible task.
something that is impractical is too expensive, takes too much time, is too difficult etc and therefore it is not sensible to try to do it: · It’s a nice idea, but it’s totally impractical.· We cannot all just stop using our cars - that would be completely impractical.· an impractical suggestion
used when saying that something is completely impossible, especially because it is not allowed: · It’s out of the question for you to go alone.
informal used when saying that you think something is completely impossible: · There’s no way we can get to the airport in less than an hour.
impossible to imagine or believe: · It seemed inconceivable that there could be an end to the fighting in Northern Ireland.
impossible to imagine or believe – used especially about something that seems very shocking to people: · In those days it was unthinkable for a lady to work outside the home.
impossible to achieve: · an unattainable goal· Victory seemed unattainable.
spoken used when saying very definitely that something is impossible: · I’m afraid it can’t be done.
Longman Language Activatorwhen something seems very unlikely to be true difficult or impossible to believe: · The things he had heard about her were almost unbelievable.it is unbelievable how/that: · It's unbelievable how nasty people can be.· I find it unbelievable that Mr. Carey does not remember the meeting at all.
a story, explanation, or excuse that is unlikely cannot be believed because it is so unusual: · That sounds a pretty unlikely story to me!· Students invent all sorts of unlikely explanations as to why they can't do their homework.it is unlikely (that): · I think it's unlikely that the police had anything to do with it.highly unlikely: · It's highly unlikely that Burton will be the party's nominee.
a statement or event that is improbable is difficult to believe, even though it may in fact be true or may actually have happened: · The Rockets managed an improbable victory in last night's game.it is improbable that: · It's improbable that she would have been so successful without famous parents.highly improbable: · It's highly improbable that someone would win the lottery twice.
a statement or explanation that is implausible is difficult to believe because it is not like the way things usually happen: · Jill says she can earn $50,000 from the job, but this is an implausible figure.· The idea that a virus could wipe out an entire city so quickly seems a little implausible.
something that is incredible is so surprising or strange that it is difficult to believe, even though it is probably true: · This factory was capable of producing an incredible 100 cars per hour.it is incredible that: · It is incredible that the police still haven't caught him.
something that is inconceivable is so surprising or strange that it seems you cannot believe that it could possibly happen or be true: · The amount of time and money they have wasted on the project is inconceivable.it is inconceivable that: · It's inconceivable that university officials would fire someone as talented and loyal as Professor Schultz.
ideas, statements, and excuses that are unconvincing do not seem to be true or right and you cannot be persuaded to believe that they are: · Peter came to me with a rather unconvincing apology.· Their denial was unconvincing in view of the physical evidence linking them to the bombing.
an idea, story, or explanation that is far-fetched is difficult to believe because it sounds so surprising, unusual, or impossible: · The idea of travelling to other solar systems may sound far-fetched but scientists now see it as a real possibility.· His lawyers argue that the charges are based on a far-fetched conspiracy theory.
formal an idea, story, or explanation that is preposterous is impossible to believe because it sounds completely unreasonable: · It's a preposterous claim that the government is trying to poison its citizens.it is preposterous that: · It is preposterous that Bruce did not know that we were there.
an excuse or explanation that is lame is difficult to believe, because the person who says it has not tried hard enough to make it sound true: · She's always got some lame excuse for being late.· It sounded lame but I really had lost my ticket.
when something cannot happen, exist, or be true use this to say that you are sure that something cannot happen, exist, or be true: · "Did you know that I can hold my breath for three minutes?" "Impossible!"· "The police suspect John.'' "But that's impossible. He was with us the whole day.''it is impossible (that): · It was impossible that anyone could have survived the crash.
impossible use this especially when you are very surprised about something: · "Abigail won't give us the money," said Jim. "But that's not possible," replied Ben, "she told me only this morning that she would.''it is not possible that: · It's not possible that Kate was at the party too. I would have seen her.
use this to say that it is not possible for something to have happened or for someone to have done something: · They can't have gone out because all the windows are open.· What you're saying can't possibly be true. I don't believe it.· New evidence proved that the accused couldn't have been at the scene of the crime.
spoken say this when you strongly believe that something is impossible: there's no way (that): · There's no way we can possibly get the bed up those stairs.· If the computer system is working properly, there's no way that it could make a mistake.
impossible or very difficult to imagine: · When I was a boy, having a bath every day was an inconceivable luxury.· The slaughter thousands of innocent US citizens would have been inconceivable until recently.it is inconceivable that: · Many people thought it was inconceivable that the crash could have been an accident.
if something is unthinkable , it seems impossible because it is so shocking, nasty, difficult etc: · The amount of sex on television that we see today would have been unthinkable in previous decades.it is unthinkable that: · It is unthinkable that anyone would dare to enter the Control Area without permission.unthinkable for somebody to do something: · In those days it was unthinkable for a lady to work outside the home.
if something is not possible by any or by no stretch of the imagination, you cannot even imagine it being possible: · The new software program is not perfect, by any stretch of the imagination.· By no stretch of the imagination could Carl ever be called good-looking.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY It is inconceivable that a man in such a powerful position could act so unwisely.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
It is inconceivable that a man in such a powerful position could act so unwisely.· That sort of mistake was almost inconceivable, in an age of mass communications.· It was then that a plan came to his low mind so wicked that you will think it almost inconceivable.· Life here in this part of Maine is almost inconceivable without wood and woods.
WORD FAMILYnounconceptionadjectiveconceivable ≠ inconceivableverbconceive
too strange or unusual to be thought real or possible: A few years ago a car fuelled by solar energy would have been inconceivable. It is inconceivable that a man in such a powerful position could act so unwisely.► see thesaurus at impossible—inconceivably adverb