Ineffable
by Amelia G : April 10th, 2009
I think ineffable is one of those words which comes up around a holiday like Easter, as folks bust out scripture, while being a bit fuzzy on what the bunnies mean. So, as a service to the community, we thought we’d help everyone out with, not the nine billion names of G-d, but at least the ten most useful definitions of ineffable.
Ineffable is . . .
1. incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible: ineffable joy. (Random House)
2. not to be spoken because of its sacredness; unutterable: the ineffable name of the deity. (Random House)
3. Incapable of being expressed; indescribable or unutterable. Unspeakable. (The American Heritage Dictionary)
4. Not to be uttered; taboo: the ineffable name of G-d. (The American Heritage Dictionary)
5. defying expression or description; “indefinable yearnings”; “indescribable beauty”; “ineffable ecstasy”; “inexpressible anguish”; “unspeakable happiness”; “unutterable contempt”; “a thing of untellable splendor” (Princeton’s WordNet)
6. too sacred to be uttered; “the ineffable name of the Deity” (Princeton’s WordNet)
7. Incapable of being expresses in words; unspeakable; unutterable; indescribable; as, the ineffable joys of heaven. (Webster’s Dictionary)
8. That cannot be described, incommunicable, indefinable, indescribable, inexpressible, undescribable, unutterable (Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus)
9. too great . . .
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