illegible

[ ih-lej-uh-buhl ]
See synonyms for: illegibleillegibly on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. not legible; impossible or hard to read or decipher because of poor handwriting, faded print, etc.: This letter is completely illegible.

Origin of illegible

1
First recorded in 1605–15; il-2 + legible

Other words from illegible

  • il·leg·i·bil·i·ty, il·leg·i·ble·ness, noun
  • il·leg·i·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use illegible in a sentence

  • Sometimes, when anything was written quite illegibly, she would go to my father's study and ask him what it meant.

  • “Better give middle names at the station,” he scribbled rather illegibly, due to the motion of the car.

    The Mystery of Arnold Hall | Helen M. Persons

British Dictionary definitions for illegible

illegible

/ (ɪˈlɛdʒɪbəl) /


adjective
  1. unable to be read or deciphered

Derived forms of illegible

  • illegibility or illegibleness, noun
  • illegibly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012