- 1
If something is indeterminable, you cannot find it out or calculate it exactly. You would like a number, a date, or a clear answer, but there is no way to get one — the information is missing, the thing cannot be measured, or the sum cannot be worked out. “The cost is indeterminable” means we cannot put a figure on it. This is a rather formal, slightly technical adjective. Most people would just say “we can’t tell” or “there’s no way to know.” Though actually, it is easy to mix with indeterminate. Indeterminable is about your (or anyone’s) ability to find the answer. Indeterminate is about the thing itself not being fixed or clearly defined. A missing measurement is indeterminable; a colour that sits between blue and green is indeterminate.
無法確定的、無法算定的
組成From Middle French indeterminable, from Late Latin indeterminabilis. In English you can still hear the pieces: in- (not) + determinable (able to be found out or fixed).
同家族的字
- determinethe verb: to find out, or to decide
- indeterminateshares the same root, but that word is about the thing not being fixed, not about failing to calculate it
原始詞典資料3 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，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。
indeterminableadj
- 1
That is incapable of being measured.
- 2
That is incapable of being ascertained.
indeterminablenoun
- 1
An indeterminable thing or quantity.
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。