Inquantifiability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The characteristic of being impossible to quantify or measure
2. A quality indicating that something cannot be expressed in numerical terms or amounts
3. An attribute that denotes the inability to assign a specific numerical value or extent to a phenomenon

Etymology: Inquantifiability is a long chain of English suffixes built onto a Latin core. The root is "quantus," meaning "how much," which gave English "quantity" and "quantify" (to express as a number). English "quantify" appeared in the early 1600s, and the adjective "quantifiable" followed. Adding "in-" gives the sense "not," so "inquantifiable" means not able to be measured or counted. The noun is then made from the adjective with "-ity," the Latin-derived suffix that turns adjectives into nouns of quality, as in "ability" or "stability." Because each step adds a layer, the full word is rarely used outside technical or philosophical writing, where authors need a single noun for the quality of resisting measurement. Many speakers would reach for "immeasurability" or "unquantifiability" instead, and the forms are close in meaning.

Synonyms: immeasurability, indeterminability, incalculability, unquantifiability

Antonyms: quantifiability, measurability, calculability, determinability