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
John N. GreenExamples of unintelligible in a Sentence
uttered only a string of unintelligible murmurs
Recent Examples on the Web
The vendor said some other things that were unintelligible because of the overlap between her live speech and the lagging translation.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
But in an Akan language, the notion that an object could exist as a bare substrate, stripped of properties—say, the idea of a stone, with its weight, texture, and color subtracted—is basically unintelligible; the metaphysical split between a thing and its properties isn’t naturally expressible.
—Lula Konner, The New York Review of Books, 4 Oct. 2025
However, audio quality can make or break social media content and while some people can tolerate less-than-perfect video, poor and unintelligible sound often has audiences swiping left.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
Airports and airplanes do not have a monopoly on unintelligible announcements.
—Michel A. Ibrahim, Baltimore Sun, 22 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unintelligible
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Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
But in an Akan language, the notion that an object could exist as a bare substrate, stripped of properties—say, the idea of a stone, with its weight, texture, and color subtracted—is basically unintelligible; the metaphysical split between a thing and its properties isn’t naturally expressible.
—Lula Konner, The New York Review of Books, 4 Oct. 2025
However, audio quality can make or break social media content and while some people can tolerate less-than-perfect video, poor and unintelligible sound often has audiences swiping left.
—Mark Sparrow, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
Airports and airplanes do not have a monopoly on unintelligible announcements.
—Michel A. Ibrahim, Baltimore Sun, 22 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for unintelligible
Cite this Entry
“Unintelligible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unintelligible. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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