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
-
In the game, Abby is introduced as a woman on a mysterious mission alongside her friends Mel (Ariela Barer), Nora (Tati Gabrielle), Owen (Spencer Lord) and Manny (Danny Ramirez).—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA TODAY,
20 Feb. 2025
-
The investigation finds Reacher smack dab in the center of a mysterious rug import business called Bizarre Bazaar.—
Chris Gardner,
The Hollywood Reporter,
20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
This is something incomprehensible to any human being.—
Caitlin McFall,
Fox News,
5 Feb. 2025
-
The loss of Oakland’s MLB team and then the city’s greatest MLB son in the same year is an almost incomprehensible loss for fans like Peters, who feel abandoned by the league.—
Melissa Lockard,
The Athletic,
21 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
In this context, Roz’s sudden maternal reflexes are unfathomable.—
Armond White,
National Review,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Borneo introduced the world of Survivor to fans with the unfathomable presentation of 16 castaways roughing it on an island, forming alliances and blindsiding their way to $1 million.—
Skyler Trepel,
People.com,
25 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Like a chameleon, the 5-foot-6 senior has the uncanny ability to adapt to any opponent, game situation or even time of year.—
Steve Reaven,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2025
-
Daniels, who is 6'8 and enormously athletic, has already - at such a young age - found a way to bridge the two aspects, and combine them with his uncanny basketball IQ that takes into account timing, player tendencies, and anticipation.—
Morten Stig Jensen,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The sometimes unintelligible lyrics roll out over spare acoustic guitar in what sounds like an unfinished demo.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
16 Jan. 2025
-
From lobbing slow-motion, underhanded softballs of no public interest to failing to seek clarification for unintelligible tirades to ignoring or allowing falsehoods and blatant political spin, the interview serves less as a public service and more as a reminder of ...—
Becket Adams,
National Review,
12 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
The gold depository at Fort Knox has a reputation for being impenetrable, which has gained it a place in popular culture.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
21 Feb. 2025
-
Numerous incidents demonstrate that Macs are not impenetrable, and a new one has recently been added to the list.—
Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report,
Fox News,
15 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
However, this narrative framing device — which often loops back on itself, as a dreamlike film within the film — is merely an anchor for a more elliptical, esoteric narrative about personal and political history.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
27 Jan. 2025
-
The line out the door looked like diners waiting for tables — blue Dodgers hats, oversize vintage button-downs, esoteric diner T-shirts — but this was a crew of volunteer drivers who’d signed up on Instagram.—
Tejal Rao,
New York Times,
18 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Everything feels absurd and animated by obscure cosmic forces.—
Willing Davidson,
The New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2025
-
After years in obscure so-so movies playing Chopin and Byron, and in some respectable Merchant Ivory ones, the surprise star of last year's Four Weddings and a Funeral and this year's Nine Months and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain has lately been having a bad life.—
Candace Bushnell,
Vogue,
23 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ungraspable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ungraspable. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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