illegible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of illegible
Explanation
When your friend scribbles a note to you and you can’t figure out what it says, it’s because her handwriting is illegible — it’s unreadable. The adjective illegible is often used to describe handwriting, because people tend to have their own styles and sometimes write in a pretty messy way. But it can also refer to printed words that are faded or for some other reason difficult to read. If you leave a book open in the rain, the print will probably become illegible. If you’re walking in an old graveyard, the writing on the tombstones is often illegible.
Vocabulary lists containing illegible
And Then There Were None
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Speak
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A Lesson Before Dying
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Illegible in themselves, the fragments of form live "a collective life," like the faces in "a proletarian procession."
From Time Magazine Archive
Illegible and missing letters repaired from the context.
From The History of Sabatai Sevi The Suppos'd Messiah of the Jews by Evelyn, John
Illegible copy has caused innumerable amusing and not a few serious blunders in print.
From Cupology How to Be Entertaining by Clara
Illegible and transparent at the creases, it looks like one of those window-blinds made of squares sewn together.
From Under Fire: the story of a squad by Wray, Fitzwater
Illegible words either scribbled on scraps of paper or sent as distorted faxed messages were among the most popular methods deployed to communicate their reports.
From Behind the News: Voices from Goa's Press by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
