illegible
[ih-lej-uh-buh l]
- not legible; impossible or hard to read or decipher because of poor handwriting, faded print, etc.: This letter is completely illegible.
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Origin of illegible
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for illegible
Contemporary Examples
Illegible handwriting and typos lead to errors and duplicate entries.
She continued, “If I saw a signature and it looked like that, illegible, I would say: Beware.”
Historical Examples
He looked at him now and found his glance returned by an illegible smile.
Roden's CornerHenry Seton Merriman
There was a signature, but it was illegible—not Kurtz—a much longer word.
Heart of DarknessJoseph Conrad
It is a pity that the inscription under the bay window is illegible.
Bell's Cathedrals: The Abbey Church of TewkesburyH. J. L. J. Mass
And no one can understand, for it is just illegible, unintelligible scribbles.
The Backwash of WarEllen N. La Motte
The inscriptions on the old tombstones are so worn as to be illegible.
Letters of Samuel RutherfordSamuel Rutherford
illegible
- unable to be read or deciphered
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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
Word Origin and History for illegible
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper