All 9 Uses
fathom
in
Washington Black
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- "Ferrous," he murmured, and then peered up at me with an unfathomable look.†
p. 33.8 *unfathomable = not capable of being understoodstandard prefix: The prefix "un-" in unfathomable means not and reverses the meaning of fathomable. This is the same pattern you see in words like unhappy, unknown, and unlucky.
- But I had seen enough strangeness to understand the world was unfathomable.†
p. 181.3
- This I have much sympathy for, as I cannot fathom her either.†
p. 65.6
- I simply cannot fathom it.†
p. 93.2
- I did not speak, so surprised was 1.1 could not fathom when he had had the time to make his observations, never mind to record them.†
p. 95.5
- To actually witness his father alive, after months of believing him dead—I could hardly fathom the distress of it.†
p. 183.1
- I could not fathom why he'd elected to surrender his life to the unpredictable whims of Mister Wilde.†
p. 192.3
- I could not fathom what it was she thought she glimpsed behind the knotted flesh of my face.†
p. 223.9
- I cannot begin to fathom.†
p. 381.4
Definitions:
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(1)
(fathom as in: can't fathom) understand something -- especially when it’s difficult or complex
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Fathom can also refer to a unit of measure for water depth (6 feet), or to the act of measuring the depth of water.