unrecognizable
Britishadjective
Explanation
Anything that's unrecognizable can't be identified, often because it has changed so much. If your brother's Halloween costume is so elaborate that you can't even tell it's him under all that makeup, he's unrecognizable. This adjective is often used for things that have been badly damaged: "After the hurricane's destruction, the town was unrecognizable." You can also use it in a more positive way: "Once my bike was repaired and painted it was completely unrecognizable!" Unrecognizable comes from the prefix un-, or "not," and the Latin recognoscere, "recall to mind or know again."
Vocabulary lists containing unrecognizable
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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.
The film is a satire about an impending climate change apocalypse that’s triggered by the drilling operations of oil tycoon Digger Rockwell, played by Cruise, who looks nearly unrecognizable clad in prosthetics and greying hair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
Julia Garner, who previously played scammer Anna Delvey, is unrecognizable as Bankman-Fried’s girlfriend, Caroline Ellison, who committed fraud alongside him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
He is entirely unrecognizable save for his essential, singular ability to captivate.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
But as Caulfield noted, the wellness movement has undergone a major cultural change in the past half-decade that has made it almost unrecognizable from the movement that birthed MAHA.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
The rain fell upon the upturned, unrecognizable face.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
