indecipherable
Americanadjective
-
not decipherable; illegible.
-
not understandable; incomprehensible.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- indecipherability noun
- indecipherableness noun
- indecipherably adverb
Etymology
Origin of indecipherable
First recorded in 1795–1805; in- 3 + decipherable ( def. )
Explanation
Something that's indecipherable can't be understood. When you can't read your dad's messy handwriting, you can describe it as indecipherable. You'll find Italian poetry to be indecipherable if you don't speak Italian, and you may find some experimental films indecipherable even if they're in English. If you can't figure out the meaning of something, it's indecipherable. At the heart of this adjective is cipher, which means "code" or "secret way of writing." When you decipher something, you crack the code — but if it's indecipherable, the meaning remains a secret.
Vocabulary lists containing indecipherable
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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.
Until recently, Mayan script was indecipherable; Mr. Stuart is among the few who helped to unlock it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
I miss having claim over a piece of that city that other people found indecipherable.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026
The defining complaint about the sacked Dutchman was that after two-and-a-bit seasons the football was still formless and the tactical direction indecipherable.
From BBC • Nov. 1, 2024
Fox News aired several minutes of blurry footage of Mr. Trump meeting with a Border Patrol agent in Eagle Pass, Texas, though the audio was often indecipherable.
From New York Times • Feb. 29, 2024
She tried to read his face but was met by a look that was indecipherable: the cheerful, cretinous grin at odds with the narrow, half-desperate look in his eyes.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
