unpronounceable

English

Alternative forms

• unpronouncible (rare)

Etymology

From un- +‎ pronounceable.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

unpronounceable (comparative more unpronounceable, superlative most unpronounceable)

1. Impossible or difficult to pronounce or articulate.
   • 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 166:

     A Hungarian baron, with an unpronounceable name, had that very morning been so struck with Lady Penrhyn's beauty, that, not knowing she was married, he laid himself, castle, sabre, and fur pelisses at her feet, for immediate acceptance.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Salarians: Government Codex entry:

     In many ways, the salarian political network functions like the noble families of Earth's Medieval Europe. Structurally the government consists of fiefdoms, baronies, duchies, planets, and marches (colonization clusters). These are human nicknames; the original salarian is unpronounceable.

Derived terms

• unpronounceably
• unpronounceability

Translations

impossible or difficult to pronounce or articulate

• Afrikaans: onuitspreekbaar
• Belarusian: невымо́ўны (njevymóŭny), невымаўля́льны (njevymaŭljálʹny)
• Dutch: onuitspreekbaar (nl)
• Finnish: vaikeasti äännettävä, vaikeasti lausuttava
• French: imprononçable (fr)
• Galician: impronunciábel (gl), impronunciable (gl)
• German: unaussprechbar (de), unaussprechlich (de)
• Greek: κακοπρόφερτος (kakoprófertos), δυσπρόφερτος (el) (dysprófertos), δυσκολοπρόφερτος (dyskoloprófertos), απρόφερτος (el) (aprófertos)
• Ido: nepronuncebla (io), neartikulebla
• Italian: impronunciabile
• Polish: niewymawialny
• Portuguese: impronunciável
• Romanian: impronunțabil
• Russian: непроизноси́мый (ru) m (neproiznosímyj)
• Ukrainian: невимо́вний (nevymóvnyj)

Noun

unpronounceable (plural unpronounceables)

1. Something difficult or impossible to pronounce.

   Synonyms: mouthful, jawbreaker

   • 2009 March 13, “Natural Selection”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Synthetic fragrances can contain a laundry list of chemicals — hormone disrupters, petroleum-derived unpronounceables, asthma triggers and on and on.

   • 2010, Deanna M. Minich, An A-Z Guide to Food Additives:

     Finally, if there are some “unpronounceables” in the list, ensure that they are minimal and not artificial anything—artificial colors, preservatives, flavors, or sweeteners.