incomprehensible
Impossible to grasp
Incomprehensible means impossible to understand.
An incomprehensible text might be too technical, too poorly written, or in an unfamiliar language.
Incomprehensible behavior defies explanation: His decision to quit was incomprehensible to everyone who knew him.
The word can express frustration with complexity or genuine cognitive limits—some things remain incomprehensible no matter how hard we try.
Causing mental confusion
- confoundingCausing surprise or confusion
- bewilderingCausing utter confusion
- puzzlingCausing confusion or bewilderment
- mystifyingCausing complete confusion
inexplicable · unfathomable · inscrutable · flummoxing · stupefying · confusing · disorienting · nonplussing
Unintelligible speech or writing
- nonsenseMeaningless words or actions
- babbleIncoherent speech
- incoherentLacking logical connection
- garbledConfused and unintelligible
muddled · inarticulate · jumbled · scrambled · distorted · unintelligible · mangled · slurred
Specialized professional vocabulary
- legaleseAttorneys' technical jargon
- gobbledygookPretentious unintelligible language
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
- nomenclatureSystem of specialized terms
dense · abstruse · arcane · esoteric · specialized · convoluted · impenetrable · opaque
Puzzling and obscure
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
- codedConverted to symbols
- cipherHidden writing system
- secretiveInclined to conceal
veiled · hidden · inscrutable · sphinxlike · Delphic · ambiguous · allegorical · symbolic
Not previously known
- alienNon-native being
- strangeUnusual or unfamiliar
- unrecognizableCannot be identified
- exoticStrikingly unusual, foreign-seeming
perplexing
Causing mental confusion
- confoundingCausing surprise or confusion
- bewilderingCausing utter confusion
- puzzlingCausing confusion or bewilderment
mystifying · inexplicable · unfathomable · inscrutable · flummoxing · stupefying · confusing · disorienting · nonplussing · mind-boggling
gibberish
Unintelligible speech or writing
- nonsenseMeaningless words or actions
- babbleIncoherent speech
- incoherentLacking logical connection
garbled · muddled · inarticulate · jumbled · scrambled · distorted · unintelligible · mangled · slurred · fragmentary
jargon
Specialized professional vocabulary
- legaleseAttorneys' technical jargon
- gobbledygookPretentious unintelligible language
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
nomenclature · dense · abstruse · arcane · esoteric · specialized · convoluted · impenetrable · opaque · inaccessible
enigmatic
Puzzling and obscure
- mysteriousBeyond easy comprehension
- codedConverted to symbols
- cipherHidden writing system
secretive · veiled · hidden · inscrutable · sphinxlike · Delphic · ambiguous · allegorical · symbolic · oblique
unfamiliar
Not previously known
- alienNon-native being
- strangeUnusual or unfamiliar
- unrecognizableCannot be identified
- mysteriousmysterious, cryptic, enigmatic, arcane, obscure
- unbelievableunbelievable, incredible, inconceivable, implausible, unthinkable
- divine attributesomnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, eternal, infinite
- Beyond Measureimmeasurable, incalculable, boundless, limitless, infinite
- disorderedchaotic, disorganized, disordered, jumbled, messy
- sublimesublimity, grandeur, vastness, awe, majesty
incomprehensiblecomprehensible
Able to be understood
understandable · intelligible · fathomable · graspable · knowable
incomprehensibleclear
Without obstruction or fog
lucid · pellucid · perspicuous · plain · transparent
incomprehensiblesimple
Free of complexity
straightforward · basic · elementary · uncomplicated · rudimentary