Unnamable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Unable to be given a name or clearly described because it is too vague or mysterious
2. Not capable of being identified or termed by any word or label
3. Incapable of being called or defined due to its obscure or ineffable nature

Etymology: "Unnamable" is about as plain as English word-building gets: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "namable", which itself comes from "name" with the suffix "-able", meaning "capable of being". Put together, the word describes something that cannot be named or called by any word. The word's sense has a distinctly literary flavour. It is used for things so strange, horrifying, or beyond ordinary experience that no existing vocabulary fits them, and the idea has become a staple of writing about the uncanny. Its meaning rests on the same pattern as older formations such as "unspeakable" and "indescribable," which likewise deny the possibility of expressing something in words.

Synonyms: indescribable, inexpressible