"Mystifying" vs. "incomprehensible": where wonder meets confusion

Reviewed and edited by

Lloyd Cooper 05/09/2025, 16:18

English.me team member

Mystifying and incomprehensible. What's the difference?

What is similar?

Both words describe something that is difficult to understand or make sense of. They convey confusion or lack of clarity and are often used to express that something cannot be easily explained.

What is different?

Mystifying often implies a sense of puzzlement or intrigue, as if something is deliberately made confusing or mysterious. Incomprehensible, on the other hand, means something cannot be understood at all, usually due to its complexity or lack of clarity, without necessarily implying any intention behind the confusion.

Which one is more common?

Examples of usage

Mystifying

The magician's tricks were so mystifying that the audience sat in stunned silence.
Her sudden change in attitude was mystifying to her friends.
The instructions were mystifying, leaving everyone unsure of what to do next.

Incomprehensible

The foreign document was written in an incomprehensible language.
His handwriting was so messy that his notes were incomprehensible.
To most people, quantum physics can seem incomprehensible.