Words / C1

im-PEN-itr-uh-bl/ɪmˈpenɪtrəbl/

Impenetrable means impossible to get through, or impossible to understand: impenetrable woodland, an impenetrable clause. Opaque is the meaning twin; clear sits opposite. A summary slide is comms, not the annex.

Meaning

Impossible to get through, or impossible to understand.

Examples

• “An impenetrable legal annex still binds; a summary slide is not the clause.”
• “Opaque is the sense twin. Dense is milder. A slide is branding. An annex is the source. Cite the annex; keep the slide for the stairs.”

Good to know

Impossible to pass through or understand. Close: opaque. A slide ≠ the annex.

Near in meaning

opaque, inscrutable, dense

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