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I've seen plays that are, objectively, total messes that move me in ways that their tidier brethren do not. That's the romantic mystery of great theater. Translating this ineffability into printable prose is a challenge that can never be fully met.
Ben Brantley

Meaning of "ineffability" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF INEFFABILITY

ineffability  [ɪnˌefəˈbɪlɪtɪ] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF INEFFABILITY

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Ineffability is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES INEFFABILITY MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Ineffability

Ineffability is concerned with ideas that cannot or should not be expressed in spoken words, often being in the form of a taboo or incomprehensible term. This property is commonly associated with philosophy, aspects of existence, and similar concepts that are inherently "too great", complex, or abstract to be adequately communicated. In addition, illogical statements, principles, reasons, and arguments may be considered intrinsically ineffable along with impossibilities, contradictions, and paradoxes. Terminology describing the nature of experience cannot be properly conveyed in dualistic symbolic language; it is believed that this knowledge is only held by the individual from which it originates. Profanity and vulgarisms can easily and clearly be stated, but by those who believe they should not be said, they are considered ineffable. Thus, one method of describing something that is ineffable is by using apophasis, i.e. describing what it is not, rather than what it is.

Definition of ineffability in the English dictionary

The first definition of ineffability in the dictionary is the fact or state of being too great or intense to be expressed in words; unutterability. Other definition of ineffability is the fact or state of being too sacred to be uttered. Ineffability is also the fact or state of being indescribable and indefinable.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH INEFFABILITY


ability
əˈbɪlɪtɪ
accessibility
əkˌsɛsɪˈbɪlɪtɪ
accountability
əˌkaʊntəˈbɪlɪtɪ
availability
əˌveɪləˈbɪlɪtɪ
capability
ˌkeɪpəˈbɪlɪtɪ
compatibility
kəmˌpætɪˈbɪlɪtɪ
disability
ˌdɪsəˈbɪlɪtɪ
durability
ˌdjʊərəˈbɪlɪtɪ
eligibility
ˌɛlɪdʒɪˈbɪlɪtɪ
flexibility
ˌflɛksɪˈbɪlɪtɪ
inability
ˌɪnəˈbɪlɪtɪ
liability
ˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪtɪ
mobility
məʊˈbɪlɪtɪ
nobility
nəʊˈbɪlɪtɪ
possibility
ˌpɒsɪˈbɪlɪtɪ
probability
ˌprɒbəˈbɪlɪtɪ
reliability
rɪˌlaɪəˈbɪlɪtɪ
responsibility
rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlɪtɪ
stability
stəˈbɪlɪtɪ
visibility
ˌvɪzɪˈbɪlɪtɪ

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE INEFFABILITY

ineducable
ineffable
ineffableness
ineffably
ineffaceability
ineffaceable
ineffaceably
ineffective
ineffectively
ineffectiveness
ineffectual
ineffectuality
ineffectually
ineffectualness
inefficacious
inefficaciously
inefficaciousness
inefficacity
inefficacy
inefficiency

WORDS THAT END LIKE INEFFABILITY

agility
credibility
facility
feasibility
fertility
functionality
hostility
humility
inevitability
instability
merchantability
profitability
suitability
susceptibility
sustainability
tranquility
usability
utility
variability
versatility
vulnerability

Synonyms and antonyms of ineffability in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «ineffability» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF INEFFABILITY

Find out the translation of ineffability to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of ineffability from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «ineffability» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

不可言喻
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

inefabilidad
570 millions of speakers

English

ineffability
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

ineffability
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

اللاوصفي
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

невыразимость
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

inefabilidade
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

ineffability
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

ineffable
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Ketidakupayaan
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

ineffability
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

ineffability
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

말로 표현할 수
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Ineffability
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

ineffability
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

வெளிப்படுத்த முடியாத
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

नालायकता
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

ineffability
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

ineffabilità
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

ineffability
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

невимовність
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

inefabilității
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

ineffability
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

ineffability
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

ineffability
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

ineffability
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of ineffability

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «INEFFABILITY»

The term «ineffability» is normally little used and occupies the 135.413 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Little used
37
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «ineffability» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of ineffability
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «ineffability».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «INEFFABILITY» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «ineffability» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «ineffability» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about ineffability

EXAMPLES

QUOTES WITH «INEFFABILITY»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word ineffability.
1
Ben Brantley
I've seen plays that are, objectively, total messes that move me in ways that their tidier brethren do not. That's the romantic mystery of great theater. Translating this ineffability into printable prose is a challenge that can never be fully met.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «INEFFABILITY»

Discover the use of ineffability in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to ineffability and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Ineffability: The Failure of Words in Philosophy and Religion
Describes the extraordinary powers than have been attributed to language everywhere, and then its failure to express important aspects in the major philosophical systems of Indian, China, Japan, and the west.
Ben-Ami Scharfstein, 1993
2
Ineffability and Philosophy
This book asks whether the notion of there being a truth, or a state of affairs, or knowledge that can't be expressed linguistically is a coherent notion.
André Kukla, 2004
3
Resolving Conflicts in Grammars: Optimality Theory in ...
they relate to a situation in which the descriptive power of OT seems too restricted .4 Our answer is that at least ineffability is (by and large) related to architectural aspects of OT that are problematic on grounds quite independent of ineffability, ...
Gisbert Fanselow, Caroline Féry, 2002
4
Music and Meaning
... it (you recover the score more or less) and analyze it according to the grammatical rules; that is, you compute a structural description of the piece."12 Raffman analyzes the alleged ineffability of music partly in terms of our ability to refer ...
Jenefer Robinson, 1997
5
The Creative Cognition Approach
Chapter. 5. The. Ineffability. of. Insight. Jonathan. W. Schooler. and. Joseph. Melcher. Language can become a screen that stands between the thinker and reality. That is the reason why true creativity often starts where language ends.
Steven M. Smith, Thomas B. Ward, Ronald A. Finke, 1995
6
Ineffability and Religious Experience
In this book, Bennett-Hunter builds on the recent work of David Cooper, who argues that the meaning of life can only be understood in terms of an ineffable source on which life depends, and engages with the work of continental philosophers, ...
Guy Bennett-Hunter, 2014
7
Mystical Experience and Religious Doctrine: An Investigation ...
Although not immediately pertinent to our concerns at this moment, it is worth noting that both James and Stace fail to distinguish between the ineffability of the experience and the mystical doctrine of the ineffability of the 'object' of mystical ...
Philip C. Almond, 1982
8
Ineffability
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Ineffability is concerned with ideas that cannot or should not be expressed in spoken words (or language in general), often being in the form of a taboo or incomprehensible term.
Jesse Russell, Ronald Cohn, 2012
9
Religious Experience
Stace (1960: 131-132), for example, gives a central place in his list of common characteristics to ineffability and the related notion of paradoxicality, and to a sense of objectivity or reality. Accordingly, let us focus on the two characteristics of ...
Wayne Proudfoot, 1987
10
The Ineffability of God
THIS 6 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Thrice Greatest Hermes Part 3, by Stobaeus . To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 0766126145.
Stobaeus, 2010

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «INEFFABILITY»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term ineffability is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Richard Schickel's movies memoir 'Keepers' is breezy to a fault
And sometimes the critic throws up his hands, equating greatness with ineffability. "Yes, ['Tokyo Story'] is a masterpiece, though I'm not ... «Los Angeles Times, Jul 15»
2
Listen Up Philip review – self-conscious antiheroism
... “infinitely replenishing prism of regret”, swapping misogynist platitudes and wallowing in “the innate ineffability of human disappointment”. «The Guardian, Jun 15»
3
Rudnik > Indifferent Gods atop a Fallen World
A central question to any religious tradition is, despite the assumed majesty and ineffability of the gods—that is, however we call or understand ... «ValdostaToday.com, Jun 15»
4
Prudence Peiffer
DESCRIBING AGNES MARTIN'S PAINTINGS in these pages in 1967, Annette Michelson wrote of their “ultimate ineffability.” That same year, Martin herself ... «Artforum, May 15»
5
Money and the Mind
... or some Bach to get us thinking about the ineffability of human artistic invention, elaboration, and emotion. The Hard Problem mini-preludes ... «CounterPunch, May 15»
6
Broadway's 11th Commandment: Thou Shalt Be a Wise-Ass
And so he has, in his omnipresent ineffability, chosen Parsons as his vehicle — “For lo, I have endowed him with a winning, likeable personality ... «Jewish Daily Forward, May 15»
7
Why Does Okwui Enwezor's Biennale Feel So Out of Date?
“Surround Audience” also importantly focuses on the ineffability of the body, the blurring division of capitalist labor and creative play, and the ... «Vulture, May 15»
8
'Orphan Black' Season 3 premiere: Producers answer 10 burning …
And somehow to us, those qualities are the most human qualities you can have, that ineffability or second sight or prescience. She's an empath ... «Washington Post, Apr 15»
9
How would you teach an AI what it means to be human?
The ineffability of humanity infuses our lives with mystery, potential, and—in a roundabout way—a sense of purpose, as we seek to define the ... «A.V. Club Denver/Boulder, Apr 15»
10
Eilen Jewell - "My Hometown" (audio) (Premiere)
... in this way, Jewell invites the listener in to experience her understanding of her hometown whilst simultaneously conveying its ineffability. «PopMatters, Apr 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Ineffability [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/ineffability>. May 2024 ».
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