different between clandestine vs impenetrable

English

Etymology

From Latin clandest?nus (“secret, concealed”); compare French clandestin.

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: clan?des?tine
• IPA^(key): /klæn?d?st?n/, /?klænd?st(a)?n/, /?klænd?st(a)?n/
• Rhymes: -?st?n

Adjective

clandestine (comparative more clandestine, superlative most clandestine)

1. Done or kept in secret, sometimes to conceal an illicit or improper purpose.

   Synonyms: covert, furtive, hush-hush, secret, secretive, undercover; see also Thesaurus:covert

   • 2004 — Penny Arcade

     In my imagination, all work place encounters between men and women result in clandestine sex.

   • 2005 — Stewart Lee, 90's Comedian DVD

     And I don't want anyone to think I dislike Catholicism because I don't. It's actually my favourite form of clandestine global evil.

2. (freemasonry, of a person or lodge) Not recognized as a regular member.

Derived terms

• clandestinely
• clandestineness

Translations

French

Adjective

clandestine

1. feminine singular of clandestin

Italian

Adjective

clandestine

1. feminine plural of clandestino

Noun

clandestine f pl

1. feminine plural of clandestino

Latin

Adjective

cland?st?ne

1. vocative masculine singular of cland?st?nus

English

Etymology

From Middle French impenetrable, from Latin impenetrabilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?m?p?n?t??b?l/, /?m?p?n?t??b?l/
• Hyphenation: im?pen?e?tra?ble

Adjective

impenetrable (not comparable)

1. Not penetrable.

   The fortress is impenetrable, so it cannot be taken.

   • The avalanche spread and stopped, locking everything it carried into an icy cocoon. It was now a jagged, virtually impenetrable pile of ice, longer than a football field and nearly as wide.

2. (figuratively) Incomprehensible; fathomless; inscrutable.

   Business jargon makes this document impenetrable, I can't understand it.

3. Opaque; obscure; not translucent or transparent.

   When night falls, she cloaks the world in impenetrable darkness.

Synonyms

• (not penetrable): impregnable, unfathomable
• (incomprehensible): See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible

Antonyms

• (not penetrable): penetrable, pregnable, fathomable
• (incomprehensible): See also Thesaurus:comprehensible

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin impenetr?bilis.

Adjective

impenetrable (masculine and feminine plural impenetrables)

1. impenetrable

Further reading

• “impenetrable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “impenetrable” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “impenetrable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “impenetrable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin impenetr?bilis.

Adjective

impenetrable (plural impenetrables)

1. impenetrable

Further reading

• “impenetrable” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.