as in unreadable
incapable of being read or deciphered
illegible signatures on the petition will be disregarded
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illegible
Managers flagged signs as being worn and illegible.
—
Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 11 Mar. 2026
But a prelinguistic intuition also simmers, for example, in a set of illegible, calligraphic drawings that suggest something just preceding the nascence of writing.
—Brian Seibert, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
The bottles may have missing or illegible lot codes and expiration dates.
—Jenna Anderson, Health, 30 Jan. 2026
He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illegible
Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 11 Mar. 2026
But a prelinguistic intuition also simmers, for example, in a set of illegible, calligraphic drawings that suggest something just preceding the nascence of writing.
—Brian Seibert, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
The bottles may have missing or illegible lot codes and expiration dates.
—Jenna Anderson, Health, 30 Jan. 2026
He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.
—Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for illegible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegible
Adjective
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Denilson Baniwa has argued that one of Indigenous art’s most effective instruments of resistance is disguise—the adoption of non-Indigenous forms to achieve legibility in white, institutional terms, while the actual logic resides elsewhere, unreadable to those the work isn’t intended for.—
María Carri,
Artforum,
16 Apr. 2026
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Yasmin Kara-Hanani and Henry Muck are out of their depth in the flashy offices of Tender, a start-up led by the smooth-talking, unreadable Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella).—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Hantavirus is suspected of spreading aboard a luxury cruise ship, killing three passengers and sparking new concerns as a once obscure disease, with an extraordinarily high death rate, rises amid changing climate conditions.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 May 2026
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Pau’s early work cohered around a nonnarrative approach to themes of alienation and isolation, rendered through obscure and richly textured visuals.—
Pauline J. Yao,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
Adjective
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In Islamabad, the almost indecipherable whisper of leaks has turned to crickets.—
Nic Robertson,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
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Diving into our nearly indecipherable monthly utility bills, most customers will find their electric delivery charges exceed their electric generation charges.—
Craig D. Rose,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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That's because the waning gibbous moon will appear in the sky at the same time, most likely outshining many of the fainter shooting stars.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
4 May 2026
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That's because, as Gray explained, the impact will be too faint for observations.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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Georgia relies on machines that count ballots by reading QR codes that are undecipherable to humans.—
Caleb Groves,
AJC.com,
29 Apr. 2026
-
The spirit and the symbolism were, at times, undecipherable.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The cause of the explosion was unclear but the incident underscores safety concerns for vessels thinking about making the voyage.—
Matt Egan,
CNN Money,
4 May 2026
-
What action triggered the algorithm to move Turmus from surveillance to the kill list is unclear.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Illegible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegible. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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