mérhetetlen

Mérhetetlen is a Hungarian adjective meaning immeasurable, incalculable, or vast beyond measurement. It can describe quantities that are difficult to quantify and, more often, phenomena or qualities that seem beyond measurement in a figurative sense. The adverb mérhetetlenül is used to intensify adjectives, as in mérhetetlenül fontos atau mérhetetlenül gyors.

Etymology and nuance: the word is formed from the root mér- (to measure) with the suffix -hetetlen, literally signaling “not measurable” or “beyond measurement.” In everyday language it denotes extreme size, scope, or ambiguity, and is commonly employed to convey awe, wonder, or indefinability.

Usage: mérhetetlen appears in both descriptive and literary contexts. Examples include mérhetetlen mennyiségű információ (an immeasurable amount of information), mérhetetlen bánat (unmeasured sorrow), and mérhetetlenül gazdag kultúra (an immeasurably rich culture). It frequently functions to emphasize scale or complexity without committing to a precise quantity. Depending on context, it can carry neutral, positive, or contemplative overtones.

Related terms: felmérhetetlen, a common synonym in the sense of “incalculable” or “immeasurable”; mérhetetlenül as the corresponding adverb. Other related expressions concern indefinability or indeterminacy, such as határozhatatlan or megfoghatatlan, used in slightly different nuance.

In Hungarian usage, mérhetetlen is a versatile term for expressing vastness, complexity, or mystery, spanning everyday speech and literary or rhetorical style.