inimaginável

Inimaginável is a Portuguese adjective and, less commonly, an adverb form in the language is inimaginavelmente. It describes something that cannot be imagined, is beyond belief, or is inconceivable by current understanding. The term is frequently used to express extreme scale, novelty, or surprise.

Etymology and meaning: The word is formed from the prefix in- (negation) attached to imaginável, itself derived from imaginar, meaning to imagine. Imaginável comes from Latin imaginabilis, while inimaginável negates that sense, yielding “unimaginable” or “inconceivable.”

Usage: Inimaginável is widely used in both European and Brazilian Portuguese to emphasize magnitude or novelty. It can modify a noun, as in um custo inimaginável (an unimaginable cost), or function as a predicative adjective, in É inimaginável que isso aconteça (It is unimaginable that this could happen). The adverbial form inimaginavelmente is used to modify verbs or adjectives, meaning “in an unimaginable way” or “unimaginably.”

Examples:

- O custo do projeto tornou-se inimaginável. (The project’s cost became unimaginable.)

- Foi um sofrimento inimaginável para todos os envolvidos. (It was an unimaginable suffering for everyone involved.)

- A velocidade alcançada é inimaginável. (The speed reached is unimaginable.)

See also: inconcebível, impensável, extraordinário, inacreditável. Inimaginável is commonly chosen for emphasis in writing and speech to convey a sense of astonishment, extremity, or surprise that defies imagination.