unintelligible

[ uhn-in-tel-i-juh-buhl ]

adjective

1. not intelligible; not capable of being understood.

   Synonyms: undecipherable, baffling, incomprehensible

unintelligible

/ ˌʌnɪnˈtɛlɪdʒɪbəl /

adjective

1. not able to be understood; incomprehensible

Other Words From

• unin·telli·gi·bili·ty unin·telli·gi·ble·ness noun
• unin·telli·gi·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of unintelligible¹

First recorded in 1610–20; un- ¹ + intelligible

Example Sentences

In Fortenberry’s case, however, prosecutors argued that they could not redact sensitive information without rendering the evidence unintelligible.

From The Daily Beast

Outside is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, or misdirected entries, all of which will be disqualified.

From Outside Online

Last school year, schools had to close entire classrooms when one student tested positive, but the latest guidance is a lot more complicated – and almost unintelligible now when it comes to individual circumstances.

From Voice of San Diego

Amazon says that was a privacy choice as well as a technical consideration because the rotating blades make so much noise, it would render any audio unintelligible anyway.

From Popular-Science

The Thompsons, while goofy and simple and often unintelligible, really and truly loved each other.

From The Daily Beast

But in this case, their anger could end up amounting to more than just an unintelligible rant on Twitter.

From The Daily Beast

The microphones in the chamber were off so that what she was saying was unintelligible on the floor and to viewers on C-SPAN.

From The Daily Beast

The microphones in the chamber were off during the vote so that what she was saying was unintelligible on the floor.

From The Daily Beast

The prevailing feeling is one of slight frustration, as everyone strains to make sense of the largely unintelligible sounds.

From The Daily Beast

The "spirit writing" consists of unmeaning, unintelligible scribbling scrawls, and very rarely containing any letters or words.

From Project Gutenberg

Her bewilderment was complete: the more she wished to appear to understand him the more unintelligible his remarks became.

From Project Gutenberg

She repeated this several times, and gradually dwindled off into unintelligible mutterings.

From Project Gutenberg

A drummer soon came with a message from the besiegers, but a message which was utterly unintelligible to the besieged.

From Project Gutenberg

He clings tenaciously to his unintelligible language, and is quite certain that he is superior to the whole human race.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• illegible
• impenetrable
• incomprehensible
• indecipherable
• meaningless
• opaque
• unfathomable
• vague