imponderable
impossible or very difficult to estimate or weigh
Roots
- -able / -ible: able to be, fit to be, or worthy of
- im- / in- (not): not or without
- pond / ponder: weight, weighing, or serious consideration
Other words with the pond / ponder root
- ponder: to think carefully
- ponderous: heavy, slow, or dull from weight
- pound: unit of weight
- preponderance: greater weight, force, or amount
- preponderant: having greater weight, influence, or importance
Ponder gives weight. Imponderable questions cannot be weighed cleanly or calculated with confidence.
Luck was the imponderable factor in the final result, impossible to measure beforehand.
Imponderable is where the scale fails. You can name the factor, but you cannot weigh it neatly: chance, mood, timing, trust, fear.