# inexplicable
## English
### Alternative forms

* unexplicable (uncommon)

### Etymology

From Middle English inexplicable, from Middle French inexplicable, from Latin inexplicābilis, from in- (“not”) +‎ explicābilis (“explicable”). By surface analysis, in- +‎ explicable.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌɪn.ɪkˈsplɪ.kə.bl̩/, /ɪnˈɛk.splɪ.kə.bəl/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Adjective

inexplicable (comparative more inexplicable, superlative most inexplicable)
* Impossible to explain; not easily accounted for.
    Synonyms: inexplainable, unexplainable, insoluble; see also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
    Antonyms: explicable; see also Thesaurus:comprehensible
** 1873, Jules Verne, chapter I, in [anonymous], transl., Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas; […], James R. Osgood edition, Boston, Mass.: Geo[rge] M[urray] Smith & Co., →OCLC, part I, page 3:The year 1866 was signalised by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and inexplicable phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten.

#### Derived terms

* inexplicability
* inexplicableness
* inexplicably

#### Translations
### Noun

inexplicable (plural inexplicables)
* Something that is inexplicable.
    Synonym: inexplicability
** 1656, Tho[mas] Stanley, “[Cleanthes.] Chap[ter] III. His Writings.”, in The History of Philosophy, the Second Volume, volume II, London: […] Humphrey Moseley, and Thomas Dring: […], →OCLC, 8th part (Containing the Stoick Philosophers), pages 127–128:HEE [Cleanthes] left behind him (ſaith [Diogenes] Laertius) theſe excellent Books. […] Of Inexplicables.
** 2000, Wally Phillips, “Foreword”, in Vicki Quade, I Remember Bob Collins, Champaign, Ill.: Bannon Multimedia Group, →ISBN, page vi:The premature passing of Bob Collins and the sadness it begets leave us in wonder. A man of vigor and vitality, compassion and concern, and a joyous contributor enhancing each new day is suddenly no more. Or is that also conjecture or gospel? Could it be that his departure is but a chapter in the imponderable mystery we long to comprehend? An inexplicable that cannot be perceived?
** 2001, Ann Zwinger, “Fall Colors, Gifts of Glory”, in Anthony Eaton Cook, Fall Colors across North America, Portland, Ore.: Graphic Arts Center Publishing, →ISBN, page 30:Each clone acts as a huge, undivided tree, with its own time of flushing spring leaves, of turning yellow, and its own shade of yellow that can vary from lemon to salmon to an occasional sandy red, the color change defining the margins of each clone. The contrasting colors depend on variations in soil chemistry, slope exposure, genetic makeup, and a grab bag of inexplicables that bless trees, growing so closely that their upper branches may touch, with smartly different colors.
** 2001, Salman Rushdie, chapter 1, in Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 10:Her proposition was that at the heart of each of the great tragedies were unanswerable questions about love, and, to make sense of the plays, we must each attempt to explicate these inexplicables in our own way.

### References

* ↑ “inexplicable, adj. (and adv.) and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin inexplicābilis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [in.əks.pliˈkab.blə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [in.eks.pliˈka.ble]
* Rhymes: -abblə, -able

### Adjective

inexplicable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inexplicables)
* inexplicable
    Antonym: explicable

#### Derived terms

* inexplicablement

### Further reading

* “inexplicable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
* “inexplicable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “inexplicable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
* “inexplicable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

## French
### Etymology

From Latin inexplicābilis. By surface analysis, in- +‎ explicable.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /i.nɛk.spli.kabl/

### Adjective

inexplicable (plural inexplicables)
* inexplicable, unexplainable
    Antonym: explicable

#### Derived terms

* inexplicablement

### Further reading

* “inexplicable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Galician
### Alternative forms

* inexplicável (reintegrationist)
* inexplicábel

### Etymology

From Latin inexplicābilis.

### Pronunciation

* This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

### Adjective

inexplicable m or f (plural inexplicables)
* inexplicable, unexplainable
    Antonym: explicable

#### Derived terms

* inexplicablemente

### Further reading

* “inexplicable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin inexplicābilis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ineɡspliˈkable/ [i.neɣ̞s.pliˈka.β̞le]
* Rhymes: -able
* Syllabification: i‧nex‧pli‧ca‧ble

### Adjective

inexplicable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inexplicables)
* inexplicable, unexplainable
    Antonym: explicable

#### Derived terms

* inexplicablemente

### Further reading

* “inexplicable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10