indeterminable

Everyday

(formal) Indeterminable means impossible to find out, measure or decide exactly. tree →

In the lessons

In science, some things are indeterminable with our tools, such as the exact age of a very damaged fossil. In maths, if a problem does not give enough information, the answer is indeterminable. In history, the exact birth date of some ancient people is indeterminable. It is a stiff, formal word.

Examples

• The age of the old bone was indeterminable. tree →
• Without the price of one apple, the total is indeterminable. tree →
• The cause of the fire was indeterminable. tree →
• The colour of the faded flag is now indeterminable. tree →
• Her accent was of an indeterminable origin. tree →
• How many sweets are in the jar is indeterminable without counting. tree →

Note

Formal. Means «cannot be determined». Close to «indeterminate» but stronger: indeterminable means you cannot find it out at all, indeterminate means not fixed or not clear.