illegible

[ ih-lej-uh-buh l ]

/ ɪˈlɛdʒ ə bəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR illegible ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

Nearby words

illegal, illegal alien, illegal procedure, illegality, illegalize, illegible, illegit, illegitimacy, illegitimate, illegitimatize, illegitimize

Origin of illegible

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

Related formsil·leg·i·bil·i·ty, il·leg·i·ble·ness, nounil·leg·i·bly, adverb

Can be confusedillegible illiterate unreadable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for illegible

Illegible handwriting and typos lead to errors and duplicate entries.
A Bipartisan Path to Fixing America’s Broken Elections|Michael Waldman|January 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She continued, “If I saw a signature and it looked like that, illegible, I would say: Beware.”
Bernie's John Hancock|Allan Dodds Frank|March 25, 2009|DAILY BEAST
This is almost an illegible parchment palimpsest, containing considerable portions of Luke's Gospel.
British Quarterly Review, American Edition, Vol. LIII|Various
Certain mistakes are found in all alike, and probably arose from some illegible readings in the old Telugu original.
The Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha|Madhava Acharya

In 1648 printed as supra, the lines probably indicating a blank where the ms. was illegible.
The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume I (of 2)|Richard Crashaw
All her life she wrote an illegible scrawl, and had read nothing but historical novels.
The Darling and Other Stories|Anton Chekhov
There is likely someone in the shop who can decipher the illegible writing.
The Triumphs of Eugne Valmont|Robert Barr

British Dictionary definitions for illegible

illegible

/ (ɪˈlɛdʒɪbəl) /

adjective

unable to be read or deciphered

Derived Formsillegibility or illegibleness, nounillegibly, 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

illegible

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of illegible

Examples from the Web for illegible

British Dictionary definitions for illegible

illegible

adjective