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Synonyms

unintelligible

American  
[uhn-in-tel-i-juh-buhl] / ˌʌn ɪnˈtɛl ɪ dʒə bəl /

adjective

  1. not intelligible; not capable of being understood.

    Synonyms:
    undecipherable, baffling, incomprehensible

unintelligible British  
/ ˌʌnɪnˈtɛlɪdʒɪbəl /

adjective

  1. not able to be understood; incomprehensible

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of unintelligible

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

Explanation

Something unintelligible is difficult to understand, either because the room is too noisy or because the unintelligible thing is too quiet or confusing. We use our intelligence to understand things, and something intelligible is easy to understand. Therefore, unintelligible things are hard to understand. A coded message is unintelligible if you don't know the code. A whisper in a loud room is unintelligible. A weird sentence like "The waffles ran away from the Easter basket" is unintelligible because it doesn't make any sense. If you can't hear or understand something, it's unintelligible (and probably frustrating too).

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Vocabulary lists containing unintelligible

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.

See Examples For:

The measures are directed at addressing operational gaps identified in the episode, including an unintelligible transmission to air-traffic controllers, who failed to notify a nearby passenger jet of the president’s helicopter.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 12, 2026

Whatever she said was rendered unintelligible among the thunderous cheers of fans who surged forward, putting her entourage to the test.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 26, 2025

But what has chapped the angry user base seems to be not the A.I. but the unintelligible changes to the platform’s user interface.

From Slate Aug. 4, 2025

Casual viewers might have agreed more with Samuel L Jackson's plea for Lamar to keep it light; especially as some of his more densely-written lyrics were rendered unintelligible by the stadium's cavernous echo.

From BBC Feb. 9, 2025

The girl mumbled something unintelligible and pushed a meatball around in her bowl.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

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