What does incommunicado mean?
Incommunicado describes a person who cannot communicate with others, usually because of isolation, confinement, or some other obstacle preventing contact with the outside world. The expression is often used in reports about prisoners, detainees, witnesses, or people missing after an accident or emergency. It suggests more than ordinary silence: a person incommunicado is physically or institutionally out of reach, and messages cannot get through. The word can also be used figuratively to describe an organization, service, or location that has become disconnected from the wider world. Its formal tone makes it especially appropriate for news reports, legal contexts, and descriptions of restricted access, while less formal situations may prefer phrases such as “cut off” or “unreachable.”
adjectiveUnable to communicate with others, especially because one is isolated or prevented from contact with the outside world.
- Unable to communicate with other people, especially because one is isolated, confined, or prevented from contacting the outside world.
"The witnesses were held incommunicado while the investigation continued."
"After the accident, the injured climber remained incommunicado until rescuers reached the valley."
"The diplomat spent several weeks incommunicado while officials assessed the situation."
A person who is “incommunicado” is not merely quiet: they are cut off from the outside world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does incommunicado come from?
The word comes from Spanish incommunicado, a form of the Latin past participle incommunicatus, meaning “not communicated” or “not shared.” Its underlying root is the Latin communicare, “to share,” which also gives English cognates such as communicate, communication, and community. English adopted the Spanish form with its established ending -ado, and the word developed its modern sense of being isolated or prevented from communicating with others.
How incommunicado is actually used
The word is formal and chiefly used for people who are isolated or deliberately prevented from communicating with others. It is sometimes used figuratively for an organization, place, or object that has become inaccessible or disconnected.
Easily confused with incommunicado
Incommunicado means that someone is unable to communicate or is deliberately isolated, whereas incommunicative describes a person who is unwilling to communicate.