as in unreadable
incapable of being read or deciphered illegible signatures on the petition will be disregarded

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of illegible 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 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 But stripping identification also strips accountability, and policies allowing masks and illegible identification do not protect officers. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for illegible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegible
Adjective
  • Don Draper at the head of the table in a crisp suit, his expression unreadable, delivering decisions like a verdict.
    Teresa Hopke, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
  • The goal was to leave it unreadable until an authority could rule on whether to keep it sealed during the complaint process, according to a footnote in the complaint.
    Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 11 July 2025
Adjective
  • His classical, sometimes obscure tastes contrasted with Pomeranz’s appreciation for Hollywood blockbusters, making their debates supremely entertaining as well as enlightening.
    Andrew McGowan, Variety, 14 Aug. 2025
  • Some — like the emblem of the 101st Airborne and the 1st Cavalry — are easily recognizable but others are more obscure.
    Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Finishing the last mile still requires judgment, cleanup, and sometimes a rewrite of potentially indecipherable code.
    Ron Schmelzer, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025
  • But previously indecipherable 20-year-old data from NASA and European Space Agency telescopes suggests that flares from magnetars that formed much earlier — during the infancy of the universe — may have provided another way for the creation of gold, Burns said.
    Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 3 May 2025
Adjective
  • There have been studies done that show some randomness to red-zone success — or that year-to-year correlation is pretty faint.
    Sam McDowell August 6, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Monday's haze, while less dramatic, still obscured visibility and left a faint scent of smoke lingering in the air.
    Hannah Parry Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • 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
  • 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
  • But the path to controlling it often feels unclear or overwhelming.
    Dan Galorath, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • The exact timing of the disruption is unclear, so the potential aurora borealis could be visible any time between 11pm on Aug. 7 through Aug. 9.
    Staff Author, Travel + Leisure, 7 Aug. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Illegible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegible. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on illegible

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!