Inscrutable
Difficult to understand or interpret; not readily understood or interpreted.
adjectiveInscrutable
Difficult to understand or interpret; not readily understood or interpreted.
adjectiveImagine This
When archaeologists found a table in the Inca ruins, they were puzzled to find that the table’s stone legs were not screwed to the table’s surface.
Sounds Like
in-SKROO-tuh-buhl
Looks Like
looks like: in-scrutable (in-scru-table) hinting at not being scrutable
Remember This
From Latin inscrutibilis meaning not to be looked into; from scrutari 'to search' plus in- 'not'. The root scrut- is related to scrutiny.
Other Forms
Connect With
enigmatic, cryptic, unfathomable, opaque, impenetrable
Note
Inscrutable describes things (writing, expressions, motives) that are hard to understand. It is often used for things that resist interpretation rather than mere lack of information.