摘要：“Inscrutable”源自拉丁语“inscrutabilis”，由“in-”（否定前缀，意为“不”）和“scrutari”（探究、审查）组合而成。“Scrutari”与“scrutinium”（仔细检查）相关，词根可能追溯到印欧语系的“*skreu-”（切

inscrutable

英 [ɪn'skruːtəbl] 美 [ɪn'skruːtəbl]

adj.难以了解的；不能预测的

“Inscrutable”源自拉丁语“inscrutabilis”，由“in-”（否定前缀，意为“不”）和“scrutari”（探究、审查）组合而成。“Scrutari”与“scrutinium”（仔细检查）相关，词根可能追溯到印欧语系的“*skreu-”（切割、搜寻）。因此，“inscrutable”字面意为“无法被探究”或“不可被审视”，传递了一种无法穿透的神秘感。这个词在15世纪进入英语，最初多用于宗教语境（如描述神的旨意），后逐渐扩展到描述人、表情或复杂情境。

◉外刊例句

① 《The New York Times》 (2023年8月17日)

The diplomat’s inscrutable expression gave nothing away during the tense negotiations.

在紧张的谈判中，那位外交官神秘莫测的表情没有透露任何信息。

② 《The Economist》 (2024年12月10日)

The inscrutable motives behind the policy shift left analysts puzzled."

政策转变背后神秘莫测的动机让分析人士困惑不已。

◉经典名著

① 《呼啸山庄》（Wuthering Heights）——艾米莉·勃朗特 (1847年)

Heathcliff’s dark eyes flashed with an inscrutable passion that both thrilled and unnerved her.

希斯克利夫的黑眼睛闪烁着一种神秘莫测的激情，既让她兴奋又让她不安。

② 《了不起的盖茨比》（The Great Gatsby）——F. 斯科特·菲茨杰拉德 (1925年)

Gatsby’s smile was one of those rare smiles with an inscrutable quality, as if it held a secret.

盖茨比的微笑是那种罕见的微笑，带有一种神秘莫测的特质，仿佛隐藏着一个秘密。

◉Usage Examples

(1) The riddle remains inscrutable to us.

(2) It is a most inscrutable and unmitigated staggerer.

(3) His inscrutable face does not show what he is thinking.

(1) 那个谜对我们仍然是不可解的。

(2) 这倒是一个难以理解和无法弄清楚的难题。

(3) 他那神秘莫测的面孔看不出在想什么。

◉Usage Notes

Any person or thing that's mysterious, mystifying, hard to read, or impossible to interpret is inscrutable. You ever notice how it's hard to tell what some people are thinking? Those folks are inscrutable.

A good way to think about what inscrutable means is to consider cats and dogs. Dogs wear their hearts on their sleeves, shaking when they're afraid and bouncing up and down when they're happy. Dogs are definitely not inscrutable, because you can tell what they're thinking and feeling. On the other hand, cats are very difficult to read. Even longtime cat owners aren't always sure what's going on with their kitty. Cats are very inscrutable animals.

1. [ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词]神秘莫测的；难以捉摸的；难以理解的 If a person or their expression is inscrutable, it is very hard to know what they are really thinking or what they mean.

In public he remained inscrutable.

在公开场合他一直像一个谜。

来源：学无用的英语