Impenetration

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The state or quality of being unable to be penetrated, understood, or seen through
2. A condition in which something cannot be physically pierced or mentally comprehended
3. The characteristic of resisting entry, passage, or comprehension by any means possible

Etymology: The "im-" here is the Latin negative prefix "in-", which takes the form "im-" before a "p." It is attached to "penetration," so the noun names the quality of resisting entry rather than the act of entering, the reverse of what its base describes. That base comes from the Latin "penetrare," "to enter into," which is itself built on "penitus," meaning "inward" or "within." A word for getting inside something is therefore rooted in the idea of depth. In physics and philosophy, impenetration names the principle that two bodies cannot occupy the same space at once, which gives the "resistance" sense a concrete, literal meaning.

Synonyms: inscrutability, obscurity

Antonyms: penetrability