untranslatable

adjective

un·trans·lat·able ˌən-tran(t)s-ˈlā-tə-bəl

-tranz-

: unable to be translated : not translatable

an untranslatable phrase

a word untranslatable from German

Those reflective undercurrents would seem to be untranslatable to the screen.—

Mel Gussow

untranslatability

ˌən-(ˌ)tran(t)s-ˌlā-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē

-(ˌ)tranz-

noun

… a revealing exposition of the untranslatability of a joke about weasels and tractors. —

Brian Logan

untranslatably

ˌən-tran(t)s-ˈlā-tə-blē

-tranz-

adverb

Examples of untranslatable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Some of the film’s winking references are more esoteric than others, and a lot of wordplay and in-jokes are potentially lost on a non-Japanese audience: some of them are, according to the subtitles on my copy, basically untranslatable. —

Kambole Campbell, IndieWire, 15 Aug. 2024 Some days, we are caught in the misfires of untranslatable feelings or memories. —

Nic Rodríguez Villafañe, refinery29.com, 13 July 2023 The pain that connects Rama and Laurence is like a secret language, an untranslatable grammar of alienation and loss. —

A.o. Scott, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023 Impossible, as some thoughts and ideas are untranslatable, but I’m bound to try. —

Weike Wang, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2022 See all Example Sentences for untranslatable

Word History

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of untranslatable was in 1655

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Untranslatable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/untranslatable. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

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