illegible

[ ih-lej-uh-buhl ]

/ ɪˈlɛdʒ ə bəl /

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See synonyms for: illegible / illegibly 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.

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CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of illegible

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

OTHER WORDS FROM illegible

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use illegible in a sentence

Large, repeating pixels distort and obscure the image, rendering it almost entirely illegible.
At Baltimore’s Reginald F. Lewis Museum, a show on recent history that’s urgently of the moment|Kelsey Ables|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
That was the issue in 2017 when bank examiners found flaws in Chase’s handling of checks that had stray markings, sloppy handwriting or were otherwise deemed illegible.
JPMorgan Chase Bank Wrongly Charged 170,000 Customers Overdraft Fees. Federal Regulators Refused to Penalize It.|by Patrick Rucker, The Capitol Forum|December 14, 2020|ProPublica
Besides, most of the names were scrawled so illegibly, that some deceit was evidently intended.
The Thirty Years War, Complete|Friedrich Schiller
But Delavoye ran his finger to the left, and stopped on an emblem illegibly inscribed in small faint ancient print.
Witching Hill|E. W. Hornung

These grievances, and much more, illegibly scrawled on foreign paper, with a quill pen.
Mount Music|E. Oe. Somerville and Martin Ross
Sometimes, when anything was written quite illegibly, she would go to my father's study and ask him what it meant.
Reminiscences of Tolstoy|Ilya Tolstoy
“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

unable to be read or deciphered

Derived forms of illegible

illegibility 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

Origin of illegible

OTHER WORDS FROM illegible

Words related to illegible

How to use illegible in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for illegible

Derived forms of illegible