indecipherable

adjective

in·​de·​ci·​pher·​able ˌin-di-ˈsī-f(ə-)rə-bəl 

: incapable of being deciphered

indecipherable writing

an indecipherable message

indecipherably

ˌin-di-ˈsī-f(ə-)rə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• illegible

Examples of indecipherable in a Sentence

His handwriting is almost indecipherable.

after so many years the paper label in the drawer of the antique desk is indecipherable

Recent Examples on the Web

Many listeners felt the quality of Lennon’s home recordings left the singer muddy and indecipherable in the mix. —Dave Paulson, Forbes.com, 19 Aug. 2025

The two new model names—gpt-oss-120b and gpt-oss-20b—may be indecipherable to non-engineers, but that’s because OpenAI is setting its sights on AI builders and developers seeking to rapidly build on real-world use cases on their own systems. —Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 6 Aug. 2025

The streets of Manhattan’s SoHo area are as indecipherable from 2002 as the Creed concert had been. —Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2025

Comments Singer, actress, activist, indecipherable social media user — there are many contours to Cher. —Jordan Hoffman, EW.com, 20 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1802, in the meaning defined above