inaudible

adjective

in·​au·​di·​ble (ˌ)i-ˈnȯ-də-bəl 

: not audible

inaudible comments

inaudibility

(ˌ)i-ˌnȯ-də-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

inaudibly

(ˌ)i-ˈnȯ-də-blē 

adverb

Did you know?

With its negative prefix in-, inaudible means the opposite of audible. What's clearly audible to you may be inaudible to your elderly grandfather. Modern spy technology can turn inaudible conversations into audible ones with the use of high-powered directional microphones, so if you think you're being spied on, make sure there's a lot of other noise around you. And if you don't want everyone around you to know you're bored, keep your sighs inaudible.

Examples of inaudible in a Sentence

She spoke so quietly that she was almost inaudible.

The sound is inaudible to humans but can be heard by dogs.

Recent Examples on the Web

By using a series of small internal chambers in the larger keycaps—like the space bar, Shift and Enter keys— those keys now make the same almost inaudible sound as the rest of the Halo65 V2’s keys. —Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Putin looked visibly uncomfortable as reporters shouted questions before the meeting, appearing to shrug and make faces before shouting back inaudible remarks. —Nik Popli, Time, 16 Aug. 2025

The reply was in English but inaudible. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 Aug. 2025

When Alex Morgan played for the San Diego Wave, the post-match screams of hundreds of young girls who’d descended to field level in quest of Morgan’s autograph made other Wave players and coach Casey Stoney inaudible during on-field interviews. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin inaudibilis, from Latin in- + Late Latin audibilis audible

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for inaudible

• audible
• laudable

Kids Definition

inaudible

adjective

in·​au·​di·​ble (ˈ)in-ˈȯd-ə-bəl 

: impossible to hear : not audible

inaudibility

(ˌ)in-ˌȯd-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

inaudibly

(ˈ)in-ˈȯd-ə-blē 

adverb