inexplicable
/ˌɪn.ɪkˈsplɪ.kə.bl̩/adjective, noun
inexplicable is spelled I-N-E-X-P-L-I-C-A-B-L-E: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “inexplicable vs unexplainable” about 880 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, inexplicable means “Impossible to explain; not easily accounted for” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in inexplicable?
| Letters | 12: I-N-E-X-P-L-I-C-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is inexplicable?
Inexplicable appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce inexplicable?
- /ˌɪn.ɪkˈsplɪ.kə.bl̩/
- /ɪnˈɛk.splɪ.kə.bəl/
Inexplicable has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-inexplicable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with inexplicable
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of inexplicable
- more inexplicable comparative
- most inexplicable superlative
- unexplicable
- inexplicables plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does inexplicable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Impossible to explain; not easily accounted for.
noun
- 1
Something that is impossible to explain.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Inexplicable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense impossible to explain:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inexplicable |
| German | unerklärlich |
| Portuguese | inexplicável |
| Spanish | inexplicable |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does inexplicable come from?
From Middle English inexplicable, from Middle French inexplicable, from Latin inexplicābilis, from in- (“not”) + explicābilis (“explicable”). By surface analysis, in- + explicable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).