imponderables
Things beyond measuring
Things that cannot be precisely measured, evaluated, or predicted.
Imponderables are the unknowable factors that complicate decisions or forecasts: The election hinges on imponderables like voter turnout and last-minute scandals.
The word acknowledges limits to analysis—some variables resist quantification yet still matter enormously.
State resisting forecasts
- indeterminacyLack of fixed outcome
- ambiguityOpenness to multiple interpretations
- contingencyUncertain possible event
- probabilityQuantified chance of occurrence
chance · doubt · conjecture · speculation · guesswork · randomness · variability · flux
Beyond comprehension or measurement
- incomprehensibleImpossible to understand
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
- inexplicableCannot be accounted for
- ineffableBeyond verbal expression
unquantifiable · immeasurable · indeterminate · unresolvable · unanswerable · mysterious · elusive · indefinable
Philosophy of existence's nature
- ontologyStudy of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
- cosmologyStudy of universal structure
teleology · phenomenology · dualism · monism · idealism · free-will · consciousness · infinity
Something hard to fathom
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
- puzzleChallenge testing ingenuity
mystery · quandary · dilemma · koan · sphinx · oracle · unanswered · perplexity
Not physically present
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
- incorporealNot made of matter
- nonphysicalNot of matter
- immaterialLacking physical form; unimportant
weightless · formless · insubstantial · ungraspable · elusive · theoretical · conceptual · notional
unpredictability
State resisting forecasts
- indeterminacyLack of fixed outcome
- ambiguityOpenness to multiple interpretations
- contingencyUncertain possible event
probability · chance · doubt · conjecture · speculation · guesswork · randomness · variability · flux · incalculability
unfathomable
Beyond comprehension or measurement
- incomprehensibleImpossible to understand
- inscrutableImpossible to understand
- inexplicableCannot be accounted for
ineffable · unquantifiable · immeasurable · indeterminate · unresolvable · unanswerable · mysterious · elusive · indefinable · intangible
metaphysics
Philosophy of existence's nature
- ontologyStudy of existence's nature
- epistemologyTheory of knowledge
- existentialismPhilosophy stressing self-created meaning
cosmology · teleology · phenomenology · dualism · monism · idealism · free-will · consciousness · infinity · eternity
enigma
Something hard to fathom
- riddlePuzzling question to solve
- conundrumPerplexing problem or question
- paradoxSeemingly absurd truth
puzzle · mystery · quandary · dilemma · koan · sphinx · oracle · unanswered · perplexity · wonderment
intangible
Not physically present
- etherealDelicate beyond earthly measure
- incorporealNot made of matter
- nonphysicalNot of matter
immaterial · weightless · formless · insubstantial · ungraspable · elusive · theoretical · conceptual · notional · ideational
- puzzlerspuzzle master, brainteasers, brain-teasers, conundrums, enigmas
imponderablesmeasurables
Quantifiable attributes or statistics
metrics · statistics · numbers · figures · quantities
imponderablescertainties
Assured truths
knowns · known quantities · givens · sure things · constants
imponderablestangibles
Objects with physical existence
hard facts · concretes · hard evidence · actualities · definites