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unimaginable

B2
adjective

Pronunciation

UK

  • /ˌʌnɪmˈædʒɪnəbəl/

US

  • /ˌənɪˈmædʒɪnəbəl/

Description

Sometimes, something happens that is so shocking, so huge, or so wonderful that your mind simply cannot take it in. That is when you describe it as unimaginable. It does not mean impossible; it means beyond what you could picture in your mind.

Think about seeing a sunrise so beautiful that you cannot find the right words, or hearing news that completely changes your life. These experiences can feel unimaginable. The word often carries a sense of wonder, but it can also describe something very bad, such as an unimaginable tragedy. It is about scale or impact: the thing feels beyond what a person can fully imagine.

Examples

  1. 1

    Physical pain

    After the accident, he was in unimaginable pain.

  2. 2

    Technology change

    For my grandparents, video calls with family overseas would once have been unimaginable.

  3. 3

    Damage scale

    The storm caused damage on an unimaginable scale.

    • Pattern

      on a + adjective + scale

      of that size or extent

  4. 4

    Crisis decision

    She had to make an unimaginable choice in the middle of the crisis.

  5. 5

    Hard to believe

    It is unimaginable that the town could rebuild so quickly after the fire.

    • Pattern

      it is unimaginable that ...

      used to say something seems almost impossible to believe

Forms and spellings

1 form open this card.

Main spelling

  • unimaginableadjective