Words / C2

in-SKROOT-uh-bl/ɪnˈskruːtəbl/

Inscrutable means you cannot read it — a face, a motive, a text gives nothing away. Use it instead of mysterious when the point is that interpretation fails. In speech say I cannot tell what he is thinking; inscrutable is for portraits and plots.

Meaning

Impossible to understand or interpret.

Examples

• “His face was inscrutable.”
• “The committee’s silence was inscrutable.”
• “Her inscrutable calm unnerved the interviewer.”

Good to know

Cannot be interpreted. Everyday: unreadable.

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