unreadable

[uhn-ree-duh-buhl]

adjective

1. not readable; undecipherable; scribbled.

   His scrawl was almost unreadable.

2. not interesting to read; dull; tedious; an unreadable treatise.

3. extraordinarily difficult to read or comprehend; obscure; incomprehensible.

   an unreadable dream; an unreadable expression.

unreadable

/ ʌnˈriːdəbəl /

adjective

1. illegible; undecipherable

2. difficult or tedious to read

Other Word Forms

• unreadably adverb
• unreadability noun
• unreadableness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unreadable¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; un- ¹ + readable

Example Sentences

The BBC has seen a copy of the judgement which includes the report and a two-page prescription which shows the doctor's unreadable scrawl.

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The kid from Omaha who once needed counselling for his temper and who survived a shooting moved through the ring with a serene, almost unreadable focus.

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Her expression is unreadable, at once thoughtful, curious, interested and detached.

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Inside was a damp note that was almost unreadable.

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That distinction would have to go to “Finnegans Wake,” a book that has been described as unreadable even by its most fervent admirers.

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Related Words

• incomprehensible 
• indecipherable