flamebirde Posted January 26, 2013 Report Share Posted January 26, 2013 If you say something is indescribable, haven't you just described it as indescribable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanova Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 I agree. Which side of the would you take? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kikacat123 Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 "Indescribable" implies that you cannot think of any words to describe it, or, if you can, that you think the description will not be adequate for expressing the magnitude of your experience. Therefore, any adjective used to say something is "indescribable" would be contradicting itself. When you encounter something that is impossible to relate to someone, it would technically be more proper to say "I can't describe it". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iSpelBadlie Posted May 7, 2013 Report Share Posted May 7, 2013 not describable by other words, because if you just used an adjetive technically you DESCRIBED it, so......???? go look up 'indescribable' in the dictionary. it says adjective: not able to be described. look up adjective: a word that describes" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuagenes Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Indescribable refers to the situation of your ability to describe not to the object or experience you wish to describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanova Posted May 25, 2014 Report Share Posted May 25, 2014 Indescribable refers to the situation of your ability to describe not to the object or experience you wish to describe. Compare. The girl is beautiful. Refers to the girl.The girl is indescribably beautiful. Refers to the girl.I don't have words to describe the girl's beauty. Refers to my ability to describe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuurhasan Posted October 29, 2014 Report Share Posted October 29, 2014 "Indescribable" is not a quality or a proper adjective. You cannot describe something by saying it is "indescribable" It is the following adjective which determines the nature of "indescribable" quality. E.g this cake is indescribably delicious means it is very delicious. Now try and comprehend the following sentence: The cake is indescribable. You cant comprehend whether the cake is good or bad in taste. The word "indescribable" itself doesn't give you any description and thats what makes this paradox a fail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DejMar Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 (edited) "Indescribable" is defined as meaning "not able to be adequately described". If you say something is "indescribable", you did describe it, only the description was inadequate. The expression is, thus, not a paradox. Edited October 30, 2014 by DejMar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DejMar Posted October 30, 2014 Report Share Posted October 30, 2014 "Indescribable" is not a quality or a proper adjective. You cannot describe something by saying it is "indescribable" It is the following adjective which determines the nature of "indescribable" quality. E.g this cake is indescribably delicious means it is very delicious. Now try and comprehend the following sentence: The cake is indescribable. You cant comprehend whether the cake is good or bad in taste. The word "indescribable" itself doesn't give you any description and thats what makes this paradox a fail The adjective you used for proper, seems improper. A "proper adjective" is an adjective that is derived from a proper noun, such as the adjective Shakespearean comes from the proper noun Shakespeare. An adjective modifies a noun, or describes or assigns an attribute to the noun. "The cake is indescribable", in the example is assigning the attribute that the cake can not be adequately described. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avie Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 (edited) "Indescribable" implies that you cannot think of any words to describe it, or, if you can, that you think the description will not be adequate for expressing the magnitude of your experience. Therefore, any adjective used to say something is "indescribable" would be contradicting itself. When you encounter something that is impossible to relate to someone, it would technically be more proper to say "I can't describe it". But even saying "I can't describe it" articulates some manner of an understanding for how the situation/incidence makes you feel, which you've managed to reciprocate to someone else. In the end, you'll always be "describing" something that's indescribable. I think its better to just shrug when you're speechless about a situation lol. That way you really do show that you cannot fathom a description. Edited September 3, 2015 by avie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_unbeliever Posted September 25, 2015 Report Share Posted September 25, 2015 If you say something is indescribable, haven't you just described it as indescribable?That's definitely not a paradox, I'd say it's a tautology - a statement void of any value, which does not indicates anything new;Example: A or not A -> Either I'm bald, or I have hair."an indescribable cake" or "a cake" are the very same thing, with "indescribable" basic meaning..The adjective "indescribable" would be better defined as "hard to describe" - which would actually mean something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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