Standard Lemma guide

unutterable

adj · noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /(ˌ)ʌnˈʌt(ə)ɹəbl̩/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /(ˌ)ʌnˈʌtɹəbl̩/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌʌnˈʌtɚəb(ə)l/
  • General-American: [ˌʌnˈʌɾɚ.ɪ̈bl̩]

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not utterable; incapable of being physically spoken or voiced; unpronounceable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: articulable, enunciable, expressible, pronounceable, sayable, utterable

2

adj

Meaning 2

Incapable of being articulated or expressed; indescribable, inexpressible.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • unutterable anguish

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ineffable, inutterable, unspeakable, utterless, indescribable, indefinable, undescribable, indicible, inexpressible, untold, inenarrable, nameless, termless, undefinable, unnameable, unspecifiable, unutterable

Antonyms: articulable, expressible, utterable, describable, enunciable, pronounceable, sayable, speakable, verbalizable

3

adj

Meaning 3

Not allowed to be spoken; taboo, unspeakable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unsayable

Antonyms: speakable, utterable

4

adj

Meaning 4

Extremely bad or objectionable; unspeakable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abysmal, atrocious, awful, bad, chronic, coarse, corny, crap, crapalicious, crappy, crummy, deityforsaken, dire, disagreeable, dismal, dogshit, dreadful, fifth-rate, foul, fourth-rate, godawful, hellish, hideous, hopeless, horrendous, horrid, horrible, horrific, inadequate, incompetent, inelegant, intolerable, inferior, lackluster, loathsome, lousy, miserable, naff, negative, odious, ordinary, pathetic, peak, piss-poor, rotten, rubbish, shitawful, shitty, sixth-rate, sloppy, subpar, terrible, unfavorable, wack

Antonyms: acceptable, agreeable, all right, amazing, as fine as Dick's hatband, awesome, beatific, bene, blissful, bodacious, bona, brilliant, celestial, commendable, cool, dandy as candy, decent, delightful, divine, enjoyable, excellent, exceptional, fabulous, fantastic, fine, goated, goloptious, good as wheat in the bin, gratifying, great, heavenlike, heavenly, incredible, lovely, magnificent, marvelous, neat, nice, not bad, outstanding, perfect, phenomenal, pleasant, pleasing, positive, rad, radical, right as rain, satisfying, solid, splendid, stellar, stupendous, super, superb, sweet, sweet as a nut, terrific, tubular, well, wicked, wonderful, wondrous

5

noun

Meaning 5

Something which is unutterable (incapable of being physically spoken, incapable of being articulated or expressed, etc.).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

very difficult to pronounce correctly

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an unpronounceable foreign word
  • unutterable consonant clusters

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unpronounceable

Antonyms: none provided

7

adjective satellite

Meaning 7

defying expression or description

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • indefinable yearnings
  • indescribable beauty
  • ineffable ecstasy
  • inexpressible anguish
  • unspeakable happiness
  • unutterable contempt
  • a thing of untellable splendor

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: indefinable, indescribable, ineffable, unspeakable, untellable

Antonyms: none provided

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

too sacred to be uttered

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the ineffable name of the Deity

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: ineffable, unnameable, unspeakable

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From un- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + utterable.

Across languages

Translations

38 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Galician: impronunciábel — not utterable; incapable of being physically spoken or voiced — see also unpronounceable
  • German: unaussprechbar — not utterable; incapable of being physically spoken or voiced — see also unpronounceable
  • German: unaussprechlich — not utterable; incapable of being physically spoken or voiced — see also unpronounceable
  • Italian: impronunciabile — not utterable; incapable of being physically spoken or voiced — see also unpronounceable
  • Latin: inēloquāx — not utterable; incapable of being physically spoken or voiced — see also unpronounceable
  • Latin: inēloquibilis — not utterable; incapable of being physically spoken or voiced — see also unpronounceable
  • Bengali: অকথ্য (okottho) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Bulgarian: непроизносим (neproiznosim) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Galician: inefábel — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Georgian: გამოუთქმელი (gamoutkmeli) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • German: unaussprechlich — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Ancient Greek: ἄλογος (álogos) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Ancient Greek: ἀνεκλάλητος (aneklálētos) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Ancient Greek: ἄρρητος (árrhētos) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Hungarian: kimondhatatlan — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Italian: improferibile — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Italian: impronunciabile — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Italian: indicibile — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Italian: inenarrabile — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Italian: infando — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Latin: ineffābilis — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Latin: īnfandus — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Manx: do-insh — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Manx: erskyn insh — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Manx: neufocklagh — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Portuguese: indizível — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Russian: неопису́емый (neopisújemyj) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Russian: несказа́нно (neskazánno) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Russian: невырази́мо (nevyrazímo) — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Serbo-Croatian: неизрѐцив — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Serbo-Croatian: neizrèciv — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • Spanish: indecible — incapable of being articulated or expressed — see also indescribable, inexpressible
  • German: unaussprechlich — not allowed to be spoken — see also taboo, unspeakable
  • Latin: ineffābilis — not allowed to be spoken — see also taboo, unspeakable
  • Galician: nefando — extremely bad or objectionable — see also unspeakable
  • German: unaussprechlich — extremely bad or objectionable — see also unspeakable
  • Italian: nefando — extremely bad or objectionable — see also unspeakable
  • Latin: īnfandus — extremely bad or objectionable — see also unspeakable