unintelligible

adjective

un·​in·​tel·​li·​gi·​ble ˌən-in-ˈte-lə-jə-bəl 

: unable to be understood or comprehended : not intelligible

a song with unintelligible lyrics

unintelligible jargon

… including parenthetical translations of the words and phrases he knew would be unintelligible to contemporary readers.

—John N. Green

unintelligibility

ˌən-in-ˌte-lə-jə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

or less commonly unintelligibleness

unintelligibly

ˌən-in-ˈte-lə-jə-blē 

adverb

muttering unintelligibly

Synonyms

• impenetrable
• incomprehensible
• unfathomable
• ungraspable

Examples of unintelligible in a Sentence

uttered only a string of unintelligible murmurs

Recent Examples on the Web

According to Klippenstein, parts of the document are unintelligible due to Mangione's handwriting. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024

Instead, like 2022’s Smile, the end credits are accompanied by haunting unintelligible voices and sounds throughout. —Tim Lammers, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024

But when the meeting started, the audio was garbled and unintelligible as city staff made a presentation on the item. —Luke Harold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Feb. 2024

Clinical notes are now legible and easy to retrieve but often bloated with unnecessary, duplicative, and, at times, unintelligible content. —Spencer Dorn, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined above