Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not fit to be printed, especially because of being offensive or indecent.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Not printable; obscene, or that cannot be displayed textually.
  • noun Something that is not printable.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective unfit for print because morally or legally objectionable or offensive to good taste

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

un- + print + -able

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Examples

  • They also star as Ronnie and Sammi, whose hot/cold romance is celebrated in an impassioned duet with a title unprintable here.

    NYT > Home Page By DAVID ROONEY 2011

  • Commenting on the Post's hiring of Mr. Ayers, conservative blogger Ace of Spades called Mrs. Huffington a name unprintable in a family newspaper and then looked on the half-full part of the glass.

    Southern Maryland Community Forums 2009

  • Beyond that lay Gordon’s land, a graveyard for Conservatives, home of the murky Scottish Labour party and a press corps whom Mr Blair once described with a phrase unprintable in this magazine.

    John Rentoul today puts Trevor Kavanagh and myself in the... 2008

  • With every second word unprintable, McCrimmon anathematized the world in general and Alexandria in particular for five full minutes without repeating himself once.

    The Lonely Sea MacLean, Alistair, 1922- 1985

  • The collection's title unprintable here was a reference to the late G. G. Allin, a punk musician infamous for mutilating himself on stage.

    NYT > Home Page By AUSTIN CONSIDINE 2011

  • Codes below 32 were called unprintable and were used for cussing.

    Public marks 2010

  • When I'm called unprintable names merely for expressing my skepticism about the relevance of Darwin's theory to the practice of medicine, I've already won the 'ethos' and 'pathos' skirmishes.

    Evolution News & Views 2009

  • When I'm called unprintable names merely for expressing my skepticism about the relevance of Darwin's theory to the practice of medicine, I've already won the 'ethos' and 'pathos' skirmishes.

    Evolution News & Views 2009

  • It is true that independent and dispassionate criticism of the so-called 'unprintable' books, criticism in the common interest of publishers, authors, and readers, is now almost nonexistent.

    Unprintable 1969

  • It is true that independent and dispassionate criticism of the so-called 'unprintable' books, criticism in the common interest of publishers, authors, and readers, is now almost nonexistent.

    Unprintable 1923

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