Inconclusive

How to spell inconclusive

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce inconclusive

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inconclusive mean?

1. adjectiveNot leading to a firm decision or result; failing to settle a question.

Inconclusive in a sentence

• The medical tests were inconclusive, so the doctor ordered a second scan.

• The jury found the evidence inconclusive and could not reach a verdict.

Where does inconclusive come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the Latin verb claudere, meaning 'to close' or 'to shut', the same root that gives us 'close', 'conclude' and 'include'. From claudere came the past participle clausus, and the prefixed form concludere meant 'to shut up together', hence 'to bring to a final settled end'. English took 'conclude' and 'conclusive' from this stem in the late medieval and early modern period, and then added the native negative prefix in-, meaning 'not', to form 'inconclusive' in the seventeenth century. The literal sense is therefore 'not bringing things to a close', which captures exactly how the word describes evidence or results that fail to settle a question. The buried 'clus' spelling (rather than 'clud') reflects that participle clausus, and the single 'n' double 'c' arrangement of 'in-' plus 'con-' is the part writers most often stumble over.

How the word is built

• in- (not)
• con- (together)
• clus (from claudere: to close, shut)
• -ive (adjective suffix)