unthinkable

So unlikely or difficult to imagine that you cannot seriously consider it happening.

• Defeat seemed unthinkable to the champions.
• A world without the internet is almost unthinkable now.
• What once seemed unthinkable has become possible.

How to use it: unthinkable that… (It seemed unthinkable that the river could dry up.)

Similar words: unimaginable, inconceivable

Opposites: conceivable, imaginable

Common phrases: unthinkable scenario, previously unthinkable, seem unthinkable

So surprising or extreme that it is very hard to believe.

• The news described an unthinkable tragedy.
• The scale of the destruction was almost unthinkable.
• They survived suffering that seemed unthinkable to everyone back home.

Similar words: unbelievable, incredible

Opposites: believable

Common phrases: unthinkable tragedy, unthinkable loss, almost unthinkable

So wrong or unacceptable that people would never seriously consider doing it.

• Betraying her friends was unthinkable.
• Such behavior would be unthinkable in our community.
• For him, it was unthinkable to break a promise.

How to use it: unthinkable to do something (It was unthinkable to abandon the injured passengers.)

Similar words: unacceptable, inconceivable

Opposites: acceptable

Common phrases: unthinkable behavior, morally unthinkable, quite unthinkable

An event or action that seems too terrible, impossible, or unacceptable to consider.

• Then the unthinkable happened.
• The team achieved the unthinkable and beat the champions.
• She dared to consider the unthinkable: leaving her family behind.

How to use it: the unthinkable (The unthinkable happened when both engines failed.)

Similar words: unspeakable

Common phrases: the unthinkable, do the unthinkable, imagine the unthinkable