unnamable
Cannot be labeled
Unnamable describes something that cannot or should not be named—either because it defies description, because naming it would be taboo, or because no adequate word exists.
The term often carries a sense of dread or awe: an unnamable horror, an unnamable longing.
Also spelled unnameable.
Cannot be put into words
- unutterableImpossible to express verbally
- unsayableImpossible to articulate
- incommunicableUnable to be shared
- undefinableCannot be characterized
wordless · inarticulate · transcendent · sublime · ethereal · numinous · ineffability · imponderable
Cultural or social prohibition
- unmentionableToo shameful to discuss
- prohibitedOfficially not permitted
- bannedOfficially disallowed
- censoredSuppressed from publication
suppressed · proscribed · silenced · interdicted · unspeakable · verboten · stigmatized · shunned
Puzzling and obscure
hidden · obscure · veiled · secretive · sphinxlike · shadowy · puzzling · inscrutable
Beyond comprehension or measurement
- ungraspableImpossible to seize
- inconceivableBeyond mental grasp
- unthinkableToo terrible to contemplate
- impenetrableImpossible to pass through
unintelligible · inscrutable · opaque · incomprehensibility · unknowable · unimaginable · inexplicable · fathomless
Not precisely determined
- nebulousUnclear and formless
- amorphousWithout distinct shape
- indistinctUnclear, hard to perceive
- formlessLacking definite shape
shapeless · hazy · unclear · unspecifiable · unclassifiable · nondescript · featureless · ambiguous
inexpressible
Cannot be put into words
- unutterableImpossible to express verbally
- unsayableImpossible to articulate
- incommunicableUnable to be shared
undefinable · wordless · inarticulate · transcendent · sublime · ethereal · numinous · ineffability · imponderable · unarticulated
taboo
Cultural or social prohibition
- unmentionableToo shameful to discuss
- prohibitedOfficially not permitted
- bannedOfficially disallowed
censored · suppressed · proscribed · silenced · interdicted · unspeakable · verboten · stigmatized · shunned · hushed
enigmatic
Puzzling and obscure
occult · hidden · obscure · veiled · secretive · sphinxlike · shadowy · puzzling · inscrutable · abstruse
unfathomable
Beyond comprehension or measurement
- ungraspableImpossible to seize
- inconceivableBeyond mental grasp
- unthinkableToo terrible to contemplate
impenetrable · unintelligible · inscrutable · opaque · incomprehensibility · unknowable · unimaginable · inexplicable · fathomless · limitless
indefinite
Not precisely determined
- nebulousUnclear and formless
- amorphousWithout distinct shape
- indistinctUnclear, hard to perceive
formless · shapeless · hazy · unclear · unspecifiable · unclassifiable · nondescript · featureless · ambiguous · indeterminate
unnamablenamable
Able to be labeled
nameable · named · identifiable · labeled · titled
unnamableexpressible
Able to be conveyed
describable · articulable · utterable · speakable · sayable
unnamableidentifiable
Able to be recognized
recognizable · knowable · familiar · comprehensible · fathomable
name, named, naming, nominate, unnamed, nomination, nominal, misnomer, namesake