inscrutable
adjective
in·scru·ta·ble
in-ˈskrü-tə-bəl 
: not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood : mysterious
an inscrutable smile
inscrutable motives
Did you know?
Scrutinizing the inscrutable may be futile: even close scrutiny can fail to decipher it. Scrutinizing the scrutable, on the other hand, is likely to yield some understanding. All of these scrut- words have the same Latin root: scrutari, meaning “to search or examine.” While scrutiny, scrutinize, and inscrutable all prove themselves useful in everyday discourse, English speakers don’t tend to call much on scrutable, which functions as a synonym of comprehensible.
Examples of inscrutable in a Sentence
Supersymmetry is a magic mirror, and everything in what we imagine to be the real world has its ghostly, inscrutable mirror image.
—
Ian Stewart, Prospect, September 2003
Of all the myths that have grown up around Alan Greenspan, the most powerful is the idea that he's willfully inscrutable.
—James Surowiecki, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2001
That wily politicians might adopt Franklin's distinction between appearance and reality to become inscrutable confidence men did not seem to trouble him.
—John H. Summers, Journal of American History, December 2000
an inscrutable work of art
He was a quiet, inscrutable man.
Ian Stewart, Prospect, September 2003
Of all the myths that have grown up around Alan Greenspan, the most powerful is the idea that he's willfully inscrutable.
—James Surowiecki, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2001
That wily politicians might adopt Franklin's distinction between appearance and reality to become inscrutable confidence men did not seem to trouble him.
—John H. Summers, Journal of American History, December 2000
an inscrutable work of art
He was a quiet, inscrutable man.
Recent Examples on the Web
Most people have a sense that legal principles and arguments are relatively inscrutable to the average Joe.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025
Smartphones have already absorbed us in our screens, creating personalized information bubbles; omnipresent A.I. will only intensify that atomization while being more automated, more inscrutable, and more inescapable.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 28 May 2025
Everywhere in music, these incongruous expectations breed inscrutable and immutable stars.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 20 May 2025
In some such cases, the motives of the killer are inscrutable or muddy; not so here, where the killer was open about his extreme racist views, including in a manifesto that largely parroted white supremacist hate on immigration.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 May 2025
Smartphones have already absorbed us in our screens, creating personalized information bubbles; omnipresent A.I. will only intensify that atomization while being more automated, more inscrutable, and more inescapable.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 28 May 2025
Everywhere in music, these incongruous expectations breed inscrutable and immutable stars.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 20 May 2025
In some such cases, the motives of the killer are inscrutable or muddy; not so here, where the killer was open about his extreme racist views, including in a manifesto that largely parroted white supremacist hate on immigration.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for inscrutable
Cite this Entry
“Inscrutable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inscrutable. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
inscrutable
adjective
in·scru·ta·ble
in-ˈskrüt-ə-bəl
: not easily understood : mysterious
an inscrutable expression
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share