different between unclear vs inenubilable

English

Etymology

From Middle English unclere, equivalent to un- +? clear. Compare Saterland Frisian uunkloor (“unclear”), West Frisian ûnklear (“inoperative, broken”), Dutch onklaar (“out of order, defective, broken”), German unklar (“unclear”), Danish uklar (“unclear”), Swedish oklar (“unclear”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?n?kl??/
• Rhymes: -??(r)

Adjective

unclear (comparative unclearer or more unclear, superlative unclearest or most unclear)

1. Ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation.
2. Not clearly or explicitly defined.
3. Not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable.
4. Not having a clear idea; uncertain.

   I'm still unclear about what she meant by that remark.

Derived terms

• unclearly (adv)

Translations

Anagrams

• crenula, lucarne, nuclear

English

Etymology

From English in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + Latin ?n?bil?re (“to clear of clouds or mist; (figurative) to clear of obscurity”) + English -able (suffix meaning ‘able to be done’ forming adjectives), possibly coined by the English critic and essayist Max Beerbohm (1872–1956): see the 1903 and 1911 quotations below.

?n?bil?re is derived from ?- (a variant of ex- (prefix denoting privation)) + n?bilus (“cloudy, overcast; (figurative) beclouded, confused, troubled”) (from n?b?s (“cloud; (figurative) concealment, obscurity”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)newd?- (“to cover”)) + -?re.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??n??nju?b?l?b(?)l/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??n??njub?l?b?l/, /-nu-/
• Hyphenation: in?e?nu?bil?a?ble

Adjective

inenubilable (comparative more inenubilable, superlative most inenubilable) (formal, literary, rare)

1. Incapable of being cleared of clouds.
2. (figuratively) Inexplicable, mysterious, unclear.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:incomprehensible, Thesaurus:mysterious, Thesaurus:nebulous

Translations

Related terms

• enubilate
• nubilate

References