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

Decisions once made by human engineers in the future are now being executed by models whose internal logic may be unintelligible even to their creators. —Anuj Tyagi, Forbes.com, 16 May 2025

The words were unintelligible on the video, but Sacramento Police Department officials in a statement summarizing the incident said the man told officers to shoot him. —Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 May 2025

Howard spoke with officers but was unintelligible, police said. —Bailey Richards, People.com, 10 May 2025

There is only enunciating, as paragraphs of narrative are diverted into rushing mouthfuls of unintelligible high-speed monologue. —Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unintelligible

• ineligible
• intelligible
• eligible