1. 1難以形容的、無法形容的

    When something is indescribable, you cannot put it into words. The feeling or the scene is so strong, so strange, or so big that ordinary language is not enough. People use it for very good things and very bad things: an indescribable joy, an indescribable smell, an indescribable sadness. It is an adjective, a little strong and a little ; you will meet it in stories and reviews more than in a short text to a friend. Though actually, in everyday talk people also use it loosely, just as a heavy “really, really” — “The view was indescribable” often means “it was ,” not that the speaker truly had no words left. It does not mean “has no name” or “cannot be talked about because it is secret.” It means the thing itself is too much for a neat description.

組成in- (not) + describe (say what something is like) + -able (can be). So: “cannot be described.”

同家族的字

  • describethe verb this is built from: to say what something is like
  • descriptionthe noun: the words you use to say what something is like
  • indescribablythe adverb form

原始詞典資料2 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,摘錄並精簡格式,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

indescribableadj/ɪndɪˈskɹaɪbəbl̩/

  • 1

    Impossible (or very difficult) to describe.

    • He proved it with indescribable mathematics.
    • The beauty and brilliancy of this insect are indescribable, and none but a naturalist can understand the intense excitement I experienced when I at length captured it.
  • 2

    Exceeding all description.

    • Our hotel had an indescribable view of the Bay of Naples.
    • The time was when, had such an idea entered her mind, it would have been torture indescribable and agony the most intense; but then, subdued as was the usual warmth of her temperament, an awful suspension seemed to hold her feelings in control.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary,已精簡格式;依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用,改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。