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 of unintelligible

• incomprehensible
• mysterious
• confusing
• uncanny
• cryptic
• esoteric
• impenetrable
• unfathomable
• obscure

Examples of unintelligible in a Sentence

uttered only a string of unintelligible murmurs

Recent Examples on the Web

In fact, it is rooted in the same rhetoric as the black box metaphor, which similarly blurs the complex aspects of AI by framing inner workings as confined and unintelligible. — Trent Wintermeier, The Conversation, 19 Oct. 2026

Painter expressed concern that paper trail may one day become unintelligible if AI models begin using their own language to track their steps. — Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026

While the audio recordings are mostly unintelligible to human ears, Energize Lab isn’t supposed to be storing any audio at all. — Sean Hollister, The Verge, 15 Oct. 2026

Then Mikayla makes an almost unintelligible crack about Doug, which sends Taylor back into a rage spiral. — Kathleen Walsh, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1664, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for unintelligible

• ineligible
• intelligible
• eligible