unexplicable

English

Etymology

Alteration of inexplicable with un-.

Adjective

unexplicable (comparative more unexplicable, superlative most unexplicable)

1. Uncommon form of inexplicable.
   • 1532, Thomas More, “The Confutacion of [William] Tyndale’s Aunswere […]. Here Foloweth the Next Chapiter of Tyndall, in Which He Sayth that a True Member of Christes Church Sinneth Not, ⁊ that He Is Yet a Synner.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, page 542, column 1:

     And to the pꝛoofe of thys peſtilent hereſy, he dꝛaweth the couert and obſcure woꝛdes of our ſauiour Chꝛiſt in yͤ ghoſpell of ſaynt Mathew the .xij. chap. and alſo the darke ⁊ harde woꝛdes of ſaynct Paule. Which places of themſelfe all olde holy doctours confeſſe foꝛ diffuſe ⁊ almoſt unexplicable, ſauing that thei al expounde them contrarye to Tindalles hereſy, by yͤ articles of the knowne faith of Chꝛiſtes catholike church, ⁊ by mani plaine open textes of holy ſcripture.

   • 1653, Henry More, “What Is Meant by Demonstrating There Is a God, and that the Mind of Man, unlesse He Do Violence to His Faculties, Will Fully Assent or Dissent from That Which Notwithstanding May Have a Bare Possibility of Being Otherwise”, in An Antidote against Atheisme, or An Appeal to the Natural Faculties of the Minde of Man, whether There Be Not a God, London: […] Roger Daniel, […], →OCLC, book I, page 3:

     For this ſtone may have naturally grown into this very ſhape, and the ſeeming aſhes may be no aſhes, that is no remainders of any ſewell burnt there, but ſome unexplicable and imperceptible Motions of the Aire, or other particles of this fluid Matter that is active every where, have wrought ſome parts of the Matter into the form and nature of aſhes, and have fridg’d and plaid about ſo, that they have alſo figured thoſe intelligible Characters in the ſame.

   • 1984, H[arold] Mills West, “Death by Terror”, in Ghosts of East Anglia, Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books, published 1999, →ISBN, page 71:

     There is no doubt that a ghost story requires an appropriate time and place for its telling. It will wait at the back of your mind during morning light and mid-day activities but come evening or a late afternoon on a gloom-ridden autumn day and the shadows will remind you of strange and unexplicable things.

Derived terms

• unexplicability
• unexplicableness
• unexplicably

Noun

unexplicable (plural unexplicables)

1. Rare form of inexplicable.
   • 1661, Joseph Glanvill, chapter IV, in The Vanity of Dogmatizing: Or Confidence in Opinions. […], London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC, page 27:

     Chap[ter] IV. (4) We can give no account of the manner of Senſation: nor (5) of the nature of the Memory. It is conſider’d according to the philoſophy of [René] Des-Cartes, Sir K[enelm] Digby, Ariſtotle and Mr. [Thomas] Hobbs, and all ineffectuall. Some other unexplicables mention’d.

   • 1972 October, Robert Lory, chapter VII, in The Veiled World (Ace Double-Novel Books; 31755), New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →OCLC, page 61:

     She pouted as she filled up my glass. Woman, a deadly creature, but given to unexplicables. Such as mixing martinis and pouting. What the hell did she expect? For me to kiss the back of her hand in gratitude?

   • 1993, Estébana Matarrita M[atarrita], “El Negro Francisco una novela pseudoabolicionista”, in Sociocriticism, volume VIII, number 1 (15 overall), Montpellier: International Institute for Sociocriticism, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 84:

     First of all there are incidents of which the cause cannot de^[sic] determined straight away, the unexplicables. These in turn are further divided into two categories of incidents: prodigies (UFOS, paranormal phenomena, religious phenomena, etc.) and mysterious crimes (where causality is deferred).

   • 2019, Günter Hiller, “Emergence”, in Symbiotic Cosmos: A Different Look at Evolution, Norderstedt: BoD Books on Demand, →ISBN, part I (A scientific approach), page 38:

     This resembles the globalisation of today. Instead of the plurality of gods in the various religions, there was only one, the only one and almighty god. Previously all the different gods had different powers and usually a god was created for something unknown and unexplicable. So, it was quite logical to combine all the various unknowns and unexplicables to one generalised Unknown and Unexplicable, God.