as in unreadable
incapable of being read or deciphered illegible signatures on the petition will be disregarded

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of illegible Giveaway Entities are not responsible for lost, misdirected, illegible, damaged or undelivered Entries. USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025 The Farsi text is illegible to most viewers, and even those who can read the language would not know the real meaning of the poems. Max Norman, ARTnews.com, 9 Dec. 2024 As for the mail, not only was there the sheer volume to contend with, but some of the parcels had become moldy or eaten by vermin, while others had illegible addresses. Emily Krauser, People.com, 22 Dec. 2024 No illegible, incomplete, forged or altered entries will be accepted. Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 20 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for illegible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegible
Adjective
  • Additionally, tools like the map and compass are unreadable at night.
    Issy van der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2025
  • With the help of artificial intelligence, researchers have revealed some of the text inside a 2,000-year-old scroll that was charred during Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 C.E. Scholars are now hard at work deciphering the previously unreadable words.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Everything feels absurd and animated by obscure cosmic forces.
    Willing Davidson, The New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2025
  • After years in obscure so-so movies playing Chopin and Byron, and in some respectable Merchant Ivory ones, the surprise star of last year's Four Weddings and a Funeral and this year's Nine Months and The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain has lately been having a bad life.
    Candace Bushnell, Vogue, 23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The capability allowed users to encrypt almost all of their iCloud data, making messages, notes, photos and iPhone backups indecipherable, even when the information was stored in cloud computing centers.
    Tripp Mickle, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
  • There’s a circle with indecipherable writing on it, suspended in the center of a larger gold shape.
    Erin Qualey, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Her words hung in the air, jarring against the faint mariachi music coming through the patio speakers.
    Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
  • Anyone who’s watched baseball on television in recent years will be familiar with the faint, rectangular box that appears in front of the batter.
    Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Hinton then offered an extremely detailed scientific explanation of why that's the case -- an explanation that would be undecipherable to anyone but an AI creator like himself.
    Josh Meyer, USA TODAY, 4 May 2023
  • When the Giants finally chose Kadarius Toney, a wide receiver from the University of Florida, with the 20th pick in the N.F.L. draft, the team’s fans in Cleveland took a good 10 seconds to start a slow clap, mouthing undecipherable questions beneath their masks.
    New York Times, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2021
Adjective
  • The next phase of the ceasefire remains unclear Before the current stage of the ceasefire expires Mar. 2, Hamas is meant to return the remains of four Israeli hostages this coming Thursday, and Israel is meant to release more Palestinian detainees and prisoners Saturday.
    Kat Lonsdorf, NPR, 23 Feb. 2025
  • The scope of tariffs remain unclear currently, beyond China many tariffs are proposed but not yet implemented.
    Simon Moore, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Illegible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegible. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

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