Incomprehensibility: meaning, definitions and examples

Used when something is extremely difficult to understand due to its complexity or abstract nature.

• The incomprehensibility of quantum mechanics can be daunting for new students.
• Many readers struggle with the incomprehensibility of his philosophy.

Refers specifically to the quality of being impossible to understand, often because it is not clear or articulated well. Usually has a negative connotation.

• The unintelligibility of the message left everyone confused.
• The doctor's handwriting was characterized by its unintelligibility.

Refers to the state of being unknown or difficult to understand, often because it is hidden or not well known. Can also describe something that is not clearly expressed.

• The poet's early work lingered in obscurity until it was discovered years later.
• Her speech was full of obscurities that confused the audience.

Used to describe the quality of being hard to see through or understand, often in a more literal sense such as a material's lack of transparency.

• The opacity of the frosted glass ensures privacy.
• His writing has a certain opacity that makes it challenging to decipher.