as in unreadable
incapable of being read or deciphered
illegible signatures on the petition will be disregarded
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of illegible
In other words, the historical record seems as illegible as my own prehistoric handwriting.
—
Literary Hub, 12 June 2025
But for anyone who has ever returned from a conference with a collection of illegible notes and unusable photos, the promise is clear: better technology can preserve more value with significantly less effort.
—Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
When the works’ motors are switched on, the sculptures spin rapidly and the texts dissolve in a whirl of motion, becoming nearly or entirely illegible.
—Marina Isgro, Artforum, 1 June 2025
Acronyms and jargon illegible to civilians are flying everywhere, and the world effectively shrinks down to a two-story duplex the Americans have commandeered and the market across the street viewed almost exclusively through a sniper’s scope.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illegible
Literary Hub, 12 June 2025
But for anyone who has ever returned from a conference with a collection of illegible notes and unusable photos, the promise is clear: better technology can preserve more value with significantly less effort.
—Roger Dooley, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025
When the works’ motors are switched on, the sculptures spin rapidly and the texts dissolve in a whirl of motion, becoming nearly or entirely illegible.
—Marina Isgro, Artforum, 1 June 2025
Acronyms and jargon illegible to civilians are flying everywhere, and the world effectively shrinks down to a two-story duplex the Americans have commandeered and the market across the street viewed almost exclusively through a sniper’s scope.
—Paul A. Thompson, Pitchfork, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for illegible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegible
Adjective
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The serial number on the rifle was obliterated and unreadable.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
5 Sep. 2025
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To some extent, the script takes pains to keep Alma unreadable.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
29 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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For instance, in a now obscure 1944 speech, Franklin Delano Roosevelt argued that the American Revolution remained an incomplete project.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
11 Sep. 2025
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Department and team-level metrics expose inefficiency that company-wide averages often obscure.—
Heidi Farris,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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Applebee’s recently managed its first quarter of same-store sales growth after eight consecutive declines, a faint improvement, but one that pales in comparison to the surge at Chili’s or the steady gains at Olive Garden.—
Jim Osman,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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This leads to signals that are often faint, easily drowned out by background noise, and difficult to isolate in complex biological environments such as blood or tissue.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Several creators who previously worked day jobs tell Rolling Stone that there’s an ongoing stigma surrounding the idea of leaving a steady day job — a stigma that’s decided less by rules and more by undecipherable vibes.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
26 July 2025
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Claims complexity: The billing process between hospitals and insurers is opaque to patients, who often receive surprising and undecipherable bills months after receiving care.—
Dan Gingiss,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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How often rape suspects avoid prosecution as a result is unclear.—
Willoughby Mariano,
ProPublica,
11 Sep. 2025
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The extent of damage to the target, however, remains unclear.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Illegible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegible. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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