Irrepresentable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A phenomenon that resists depiction or description in any manner
2. Unable to be depicted or adequately expressed by any form or method
3. Not capable of being clearly represented or conveyed through any means

Etymology: The prefix "ir-" is the negating form of "in-" used before a word beginning with "r", so "irrepresentable" is simply "not representable," and "representable" itself is "representation" with the suffix "-able," meaning capable of being represented. The pattern is ordinary English word-building: a Latin-derived negative prefix attached to an adjective built from "represent" (from Latin "repraesentare," to present again or make present). The word's meaning follows directly from that structure. Something irrepresentable resists being shown, drawn, or expressed in a recognisable form, and the word is most often used of things that seem to exceed any picture or symbol someone might make of them. Its parts explain the sense without any special twist, so the word works as a plain technical-sounding coinage rather than one with a dramatic backstory.