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incomprehensible

in·com·pre·hen·si·ble

incomprehensible

 
pronunciation:
In kam pr hen s bl
features:
Word Parts
part of speech: adjective
definition: impossible to understand.
It was incomprehensible to me that my best friend would steal my bicycle.His handwriting is incomprehensible.
antonyms:
self-explanatory
similar words:
baffling, illegible, obscure
derivations: incomprehensibly (adv.), incomprehensibility (n.), incomprehensibleness (n.)
Word Parts  About this feature
The word incomprehensible contains the following parts:
com- Latin prefix that means with, together
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The prefix com- attaches to Latin bases beginning with m, p, or b. It has multiple forms, as the 'm' sound in com- assimilates to the initial sound of the base to which it is attached. See the assimilated forms col-, con-, cor-, and co-. Note: com- is frequently an intensive prefix, as in "commemorate " and "command ."
synonyms:
syn-
 
in-2 Latin prefix that means not, without
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The prefix in-2 occurs in Latin loanwords and attaches to Latinate bases. The bases of most words prefixed with in-2 are independent adjectives (inadvertent, incognizant), although the base adjective may no longer be in widespread use (as with incessant ). Exceptions include iniquitous and indignant . -in2 has multiple forms, as the 'n' sound in in-2 assimilates to the initial sound of the base to which it is attached. See the assimilated forms ig-, il-2, im-2, and ir-2.
pris, -prise, prehens, -prehend Latin root that means take, grasp
-able, -ible, -ble Latin adjective-forming suffix that means capable of being, doing, or undergoing
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The suffix -able , and its variants, is attached to Latin verb roots or English transitive verbs to form adjectives. (In a small set of cases, -able is attached to a noun, e.g. knowledgeable and marriageable.) For spelling purposes, it is useful to know that -able is more likely to be added to a whole English word (comparable, adorable ), while -ible is more likely to follow a bound root (visible , legible ). However,there are still many words which combine a root with -able (capable , inevitable ). The suffix -ity can be added to any adjective ending in -able , -ible , -ble to produce a corresponding noun ending in -ability, -ibility, -bility (possible + -ity > possibility; irrevocable + -ity > irrevocability.)