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I am looking for a word which can be used in emphasising that "something is very bad or good to the extent that someone else cannot believe."

For example: I may say to Joseph: "Joseph! To the extent that you cannot believe, Sarah is wicked" or "Sarah is wicked to the extent that you cannot believe".

Is there any other word or group of words I can use to explain to Joseph how wicked Sarah is without using the phrases "the extent that you cannot believe"?

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  • What's wrong with "to an unbelievable extent"? It's significantly shorter and less awkward than "to the extent that you cannot believe."
    – Peter Shor
    Mar 27, 2020 at 12:34
  • 3
    ' ... unbelievably facinorous'.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Mar 27, 2020 at 13:06
  • '.... wicked in the extreme'.
    – Decapitated Soul
    Mar 27, 2020 at 13:21
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    Sarah is beyond wicked. Sarah is beyond talented. Sarah is beyond polite.
    – Tinfoil Hat
    Mar 27, 2020 at 15:19
  • What's wrong with "very"? Or even "very, very"?
    – Hot Licks
    Apr 1, 2020 at 0:20

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It is first apparent that "the extent that you cannot believe" is not idiomatic/correct and rather you'd have to say "to an extent that you cannot believe" or "to such an extent that you couldn't believe it". "The" being a definite article you imply when you use it in this context that Joseph is aware of a given degree or extent of wickedness that he doesn't believe; this possibility is highly unlikely.

You can use a shorter phrase such as those
"wicked beyond belief" (lit.),
"wicked beyond (the common) measure" (lit.),
"wicked beyond your belief" (user LPH).

Others from the literature

wicked beyond compare
wicked beyond all comparison
wicked beyond the description of human words
wicked beyond the power of words to express
wicked beyond any mortal reckoning
wicked beyond imagining
wicked beyond description

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I am looking for a word which can be used in emphasising that [no quotation mark] something is very bad or good to the extent that someone else cannot believe. [no quotation mark]

For example: I may tell Joseph that: "Joseph! To an extent that you cannot believe, Sarah is wicked" or "Sarah is wicked to an extent that you cannot believe".

Is there any other word or group of words I can use to explain to Joseph how wicked Sarah is without using the phrases "an extent that you cannot believe"?

Your phrasing is not natural. This is more conversational: Sarah is unbelievably wicked.

The phrases the extent and an extent are used differently. Here, an is correct.

Only use quotation marks to enclose quotes or titles.

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