incomprehensibly
UK[ˌɪnkɒmprɪˈhensəbli]US[ˌɪnkɑːmprɪˈhensəbli]
adv
in a way that is impossible or extremely difficult to understand
Morpheme Breakdown
in
comprehens
ibly
in
not
comprehens
understand
ibly
adverb suffix
Etymology
the word's journey begins with the latin verb comprehendere, meaning "to seize or grasp together," which metaphorically extended to mental grasping or understanding. the negative prefix in- was added to form incomprehensibilis in late latin, meaning "that cannot be understood." this term passed into english via old french, with the spelling adapting to english conventions. the modern adverb incomprehensibly thus literally means "in a manner that cannot be grasped by the mind," preserving the core metaphor of physical seizing for mental understanding.
Analysis
Structure: in (not) + comprehens (understand) + ibly (adverb suffix)
- in: latin origin, a prefix meaning "not".
- comprehens: from latin comprehens-, the stem of comprehendere meaning "to seize, grasp, understand".
- ibly: from latin -ibilis (forming adjectives meaning "able to be") + -iter (adverb-forming suffix), which evolved into the english adverb suffix -ibly meaning "in a manner that can be...".
Examples
the technical manual was written so incomprehensibly that even experts struggled with it.
he mumbled incomprehensibly, his words lost in the noise of the crowd.
the universe is vast and, in many ways, still incomprehensibly mysterious to us.