unrecognizable

adjective un·rec·og·niz·able \ ˌən-ˈre-kəg-ˌnī-zə-bəl , -kig- \

Definition of unrecognizable

:incapable of being identified or recognized :not recognizable

The beaches were unrecognizable after the hurricane.

He was unrecognizable without his mustache.

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unrecognizableness

noun

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unrecognizably

play \ˌən-ˈre-kəg-ˌnī-zə-blē, -kig-\ adverb

- an unrecognizably altered landscape

See unrecognizable defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of unrecognizable from the Web

While the rest of the nation watches the horrible flooding occurring in Houston and southeast Texas, people within the state are dealing head-on with the effects of a rainfall that made the fourth-largest city in the United States unrecognizable.

— brian stultz, ajc, "Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin: ‘Guys are dealing with things bigger than football’," 30 Aug. 2017
Trumpcare began Thursday wheezing and disoriented, a half-dead, bedridden bill that had become unrecognizable to its own parents.

— eric levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Conservatives Just Lost Their Favorite Part of Trumpcare," 27 July 2017
Among the departed, there’s a deep feeling of bitterness, and a sense that in the new media age, the paper is becoming something less august, more frivolous, increasingly unrecognizable.

— joe pompeo, The Hive, "The Agony and the Anxiety of The New York Times," 24 July 2017
But within weeks, Ouchi became unrecognizable, inside and out.

— patrick malone, Science | AAAS, "A near-disaster at a federal nuclear weapons," 29 June 2017
A lack of blood flow to her extremities turned her hands stone cold, purple and unrecognizable to Ouweleen.

— kelly corrigan, Glendale News-Press, "After nearly dying, Roxanne Ouweleen is on her way to recovery as colleagues drive fundraising effort," 20 June 2017
His paintings of Fourth Street, in the collection of the Cincinnati Museum Center, portray an unrecognizable city of Greek columns and cupolas mingling with bland, featureless buildings, no structure higher than three stories.

— jeff suess, Cincinnati.com, "Our history: Illustrating Cincinnati in the days before photos," 14 June 2017
For Keralans, the Hinduism of the north is unrecognizable.

— vidhi doshi, Washington Post, "To protest against Modi, these Indians are cooking beef in public," 6 June 2017
The acting is excellent throughout, with Elisabeth Moss contributing memorable work as Wepner’s long-suffering wife, Phyllis, and a supporting cast including Jim Gaffigan, Jason Jones and Ron Perlman — all solid in almost unrecognizable roles.

— peter hartlaub, kansascity, "With an excellent Liev Schreiber, ‘Chuck’ fights the good fight," 25 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unrecognizable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.