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Synonyms

unreadable

American  
[uhn-ree-duh-buhl] / ʌnˈri də bəl /

adjective

  1. not readable; undecipherable; scribbled.

    His scrawl was almost unreadable.

  2. not interesting to read; dull; tedious; an unreadable treatise.

  3. extraordinarily difficult to read or comprehend; obscure; incomprehensible.

    an unreadable dream; an unreadable expression.


unreadable British  
/ ʌnˈriːdəbəl /

adjective

  1. illegible; undecipherable

  2. difficult or tedious to read

"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 unreadable

First recorded in 1795–1805; un- 1 + readable

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.

“I am a deep ‘Star Wars’ fan,” he said in his second week on “The Late Show,” joking that his teleprompter was unreadable because it had angled yellow text like the famous “Star Wars” scroll.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026

A strong undercurrent of that lively book is that it’s good to be unreadable and sneaky: “I play it very loose.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Under California privacy laws, it should have been shredded or rendered unreadable.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025

The kid from Omaha who once needed counselling for his temper and who survived a shooting moved through the ring with a serene, almost unreadable focus.

From BBC • Sep. 14, 2025

Poe’s expression is unreadable, his dark eyes serious.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

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