as in mysterious
impossible to understand
advanced scientific theories of ungraspable complexity for the layperson
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Recent Examples of ungraspable
Paul’s attachments are ungraspable, transient, and forever underwritten by raw desire.
—
Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 27 Jan. 2025
Eraserhead was so ungraspable, so far into left field, that most critics dismissed it at the time.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
One gazes into the geographical expanse of this place to try to grasp the ungraspable scale of things.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper’s Magazine , 5 Jan. 2023
It’s a megagenre, something the poet-philosopher Timothy Morton might call a hyperobject, ungraspable in its ubiquity and scale.
—Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 13 Dec. 2022
The scope of something inexpressible, a mammoth, ungraspable intimation, had overtaken him.
—Greg Jackson, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2021
The ecological relationships that Darwin brings to our attention tell us of a world of bonds much more complex and ungraspable than had ever previously been supposed.
—Longreads, 23 Mar. 2021
The Internet of Things is an ungraspable future, particularly when the fact of a future for Earth at all sometimes sounds implausible.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 14 May 2020
The river itself was a standard-issue metaphor of time’s ungraspable flux and constancy.
—Wells Tower, Outside Online, 11 July 2018
Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 27 Jan. 2025
Eraserhead was so ungraspable, so far into left field, that most critics dismissed it at the time.
—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
One gazes into the geographical expanse of this place to try to grasp the ungraspable scale of things.
—Andrew Cockburn, Harper’s Magazine , 5 Jan. 2023
It’s a megagenre, something the poet-philosopher Timothy Morton might call a hyperobject, ungraspable in its ubiquity and scale.
—Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 13 Dec. 2022
The scope of something inexpressible, a mammoth, ungraspable intimation, had overtaken him.
—Greg Jackson, The New Yorker, 22 Nov. 2021
The ecological relationships that Darwin brings to our attention tell us of a world of bonds much more complex and ungraspable than had ever previously been supposed.
—Longreads, 23 Mar. 2021
The Internet of Things is an ungraspable future, particularly when the fact of a future for Earth at all sometimes sounds implausible.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 14 May 2020
The river itself was a standard-issue metaphor of time’s ungraspable flux and constancy.
—Wells Tower, Outside Online, 11 July 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungraspable
Adjective
-
Four thousand years ago, however, Crete was also a crossroads dominated by a mysterious and largely still poorly understood Bronze Age culture that predated classical Greece.—
Bruce Dorminey,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
-
The movie is led by Tom Hiddleston as the titular, mysterious Chuck Krantz, with a supporting cast that includes Mark Hamill, Mia Sara, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Matthew Lillard, Annalise Basso and Kate Siegel.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
6 June 2025
Adjective
-
What was over the hill was unknown and what went on behind a nation's borders was incomprehensible.—
David Szondy
May 31,
New Atlas,
31 May 2025
-
How he was even charged as a result of this situation is incomprehensible.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Besting five runs would’ve been unfathomable for Toronto last week.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
-
Books, Arts & Manners Books The Second World War’s Masters and Commanders Rich Lowry The choices and predilections of leaders can bring national triumph, or catastrophe and unfathomable suffering.—
Mary Katharine Ham,
National Review,
17 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Wilson demonstrated an uncanny gift for harmonic invention and complex vocal and instrumental arrangements.—
Roy Trakin,
HollywoodReporter,
11 June 2025
-
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, there is a reason this haunting, uncanny novel has such enduring appeal.—
Miriam Gershow
June 9,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2025
Adjective
-
In a life-or-death emergency, voice signals might fade or be unintelligible; Morse code could punch through static and bad weather.—
Laurie Gwen Shapiro,
New Yorker,
2 June 2025
-
Decisions once made by human engineers in the future are now being executed by models whose internal logic may be unintelligible even to their creators.—
Anuj Tyagi,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
And where leadership believes their infrastructure is impenetrable, red teams often walk through the front door with nothing more than confidence and a cover story.—
Jochen Schwenk,
Forbes.com,
4 June 2025
-
To say that this film is impenetrable is an understatement.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Thus began an extended conversation about esoteric sounds that has continued to this day.—
Philip Sherburne,
Pitchfork,
6 June 2025
-
These esoteric Calabi-Yau structures, formerly on the frontier of theoretical physics, could be just the beginning.—
Ramin Skibba,
Scientific American,
13 May 2025
Adjective
-
The banner offers a peek into a relatively obscure group during a critical moment in American history.—
Joseph States,
Chicago Tribune,
3 June 2025
-
The other is a bit more obscure: Juan Samuel, with 70 extra-base hits and 72 steals as a Phillies rookie in 1984.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ungraspable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungraspable. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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