Words / C1

in-kompr-i-HENS-uh-bl/ɪnˌkɒmprɪˈhensəbl/

Incomprehensible means impossible or extremely difficult to understand: incomprehensible jargon, incomprehensible to outsiders. Unintelligible is the close twin; a collage will not decode a codebook.

Meaning

Impossible or extremely difficult to understand.

Examples

• “An incomprehensible codebook is still a methods fail; a collage will not decode it.”
• “Unintelligible is the close twin. Opaque is a cousin. A collage is art. A codebook is a list. Write the labels; hang the collage on the stairs.”

Good to know

Impossible to understand. Close: unintelligible. A collage ≠ a codebook.

Near in meaning

unintelligible

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