Undigestable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Incapable of being processed or broken down by the digestive system, often due to complex molecular structures
2. Describing substances that resist breakdown by digestive enzymes and remain intact through gastrointestinal transit
3. Characterizing food items or materials that cannot be assimilated or absorbed by living organisms, leading to potential discomfort or nutritional inefficiency

Etymology: "Undigestable" is a plain built-up form: the prefix "un-", meaning "not," attached to "digestable," the variant spelling of "digestible." English has long used "un-" to turn adjectives into their opposites, so the word simply means "not digestible." The base word itself comes from the Latin verb "digerere," meaning "to separate, distribute, or dissolve," built from "dis-" and "gerere" ("to carry"). The sense of breaking food down into parts is what gives "digest" its meaning, and "digestible" carries that same idea into the adjective. The spelling "undigestable," with an "-able" ending, is the less common variant of "undigestible," which is the form dictionaries more often prefer. Both express the same idea: a substance the body cannot break down.

Synonyms: indigestible, unabsorbable, inedible, unpalatable, unusable

Antonyms: digestible, absorbable, edible, palatable, nutritious