as in incomprehensible
impossible to understand
advanced scientific theories of ungraspable complexity for the layperson
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Recent Examples of ungraspable
To me, the self becomes a shifting monument, a territoire in perpetual metamorphosis, alive, fluid, and ungraspable.
—
Mame-Diarra Niang, Artforum, 2 Nov. 2025
Its scope is gargantuan and ungraspable, and as such, the appropriate level of grief does not seem human in scale.
—Literary Hub, 21 July 2025
Paul’s attachments are ungraspable, transient, and forever underwritten by raw desire.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 27 Jan. 2025
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
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
Mame-Diarra Niang, Artforum, 2 Nov. 2025
Its scope is gargantuan and ungraspable, and as such, the appropriate level of grief does not seem human in scale.
—Literary Hub, 21 July 2025
Paul’s attachments are ungraspable, transient, and forever underwritten by raw desire.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 27 Jan. 2025
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ungraspable
Adjective
-
Chloe’s arrival felt almost incomprehensible to a couple who once believed parenthood was out of reach.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Mar. 2026
-
The permanent layoff of approximately 300 workers at the Searles Valley Minerals Trona plant will have an incomprehensible impact on our High Desert communities.—
Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh,
Oc Register,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Many joked that the clip explained years of mysterious toy discoveries beneath their own furniture.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Unfortunately, Grace can’t see into the mysterious, opaque little organisms until a dead one becomes translucent.—
Deana L. Weibel,
The Conversation,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
These Chicago scientists and engineers played a critical role in the Manhattan Project, helping develop the atomic bombs that were used to bring about the unfathomable destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.—
Daniel Holz,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The notion of drafting Simpson with the 11th pick is unfathomable.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Yet, Tory Burch has always had the uncanny ability to peer into the future and unlock our unconscious desires.—
Vogue,
Vogue,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The Nuggets’ forwards have an uncanny habit of getting hurt all at once.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Instead, first-time director Fergus Campbell drops us directly into Cleo’s world — no parents, no rules and every authority figure is obscured, like the unintelligible adults in Peanuts cartoons.—
Jourdain Searles,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Later audio intel from subsidiary figures is likewise frequently rendered unintelligible by distortion, staticky transmission, etc.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
David Benioff wrote 25th Hour (great), Troy (good), and then Stay, this nearly impenetrable psychological thriller that plays out like The Machinist through a David Lynch filter.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
20 Mar. 2026
-
To regulators, crypto appeared as one impenetrable blur of internet scam.—
Clara Molot,
Vanity Fair,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Costs of jet fuel are spiraling, along with more esoteric commodities such as helium.—
Matt Peterson,
CNBC,
28 Mar. 2026
-
That’s what notation makes possible — the esoteric.—
John Pavlus,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Until now, essentially all his comments about the four-week-old war have been contradictory, confusing, or just outright false.—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
2 Apr. 2026
-
However, following the path of Artemis II may be confusing as the astronauts, mission control and others use confusing jargon and phrases.—
ByMary Kekatos,
ABC News,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ungraspable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungraspable. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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