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# unmentionable

adjective (unmentionable); noun (unmentionables — plural, joking)

«unmentionable» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Unmentionable means too rude, shocking, embarrassing or upsetting to talk about. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unmentionable/#m1)
2. (joking, euphemism) «Unmentionables» is a funny polite word for underwear. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unmentionable/#m2)

### In the lessons

In stories and everyday talk, people use it to avoid naming something embarrassing; it is a euphemism. In comedy, «He forgot to pack his unmentionables» means his underpants. Phrases: an unmentionable subject, his unmentionables.

### Examples

- Grandma thinks some words are unmentionable at the dinner table. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unmentionable/#x1)
- The smell in the boys' changing room was unmentionable. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unmentionable/#x2)
- He hung his unmentionables on the washing line. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unmentionable/#x3)
- For many years illness was an unmentionable subject in that family. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unmentionable/#x4)
- Don't forget to pack your unmentionables, Dad joked. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unmentionable/#x5)

### Note

«Un-» + «mention» + «-able». As a plural noun it means underwear and is joking. A word or topic called «unmentionable» is one people avoid; that is how euphemisms work.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «unmentionable» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unmentionable/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«unmentionable» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/unmentionable.html) on Mova free.