UNINTELLIGIBLE Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

unintelligible

adjective

ˌən-in-ˈte-lə-jə-bəl

Definition of unintelligible

as in incomprehensible

impossible to understand uttered only a string of unintelligible murmurs

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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 unintelligible Claypool’s voice, formerly a sharp and declarative figure in the mix, slinks down into silty waters, often unintelligible and almost always emotionally ambiguous. — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 2 Aug. 2026 The world premiere on Sunday – in the presence of Illumination boss Chris Meledandri and director Pierre Coffin, who is also the origin of the minions’ unintelligible chatter – kicks off one of the biggest Annecy Film Festival’s yet. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 19 June 2026 The adversaries made for a striking scene, exchanging insults in mutually unintelligible languages in the dead of night. — Literary Hub, 16 June 2026 Brig is in the Upper Valais, a gaunt and conservative place where the inhabitants speak Walliser German, an Alpine dialect that many Swiss people find unintelligible. — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 1 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for unintelligible

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unintelligible

Adjective

The Music City Miracle now has a rival after Vanderbilt's improbable, and frankly incomprehensible, last-second victory against NC State on Saturday afternoon.

— Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
This city is already a freaky liminal space full of snaking pathways that are almost incomprehensible.

— Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of incomprehensible

Adjective

Here, those extra voices vastly outnumber the two main characters, leading to a profusion of confusing subplots that stray away from the main themes.

— Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 Sep. 2026
Vaccines increasingly feel like a high-stakes decision – but with increasingly confusing and contradictory public health information.

— Jennifer Reich, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of confusing

Adjective

Seven months on, no one has been charged and, publicly at least, police seem no closer to solving what’s become one of Australia’s most cryptic missing-person cases.

— Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
Also at the 2026 Emmys, Roach shared cryptic comments about the marital status of his longtime client Zendaya and her partner, Tom Holland.

— Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of cryptic

Adjective

Their job is to reduce the world to a series of numbers that can be punched into increasingly complex statistical equations and published in esoteric journals with high barriers to entry and minuscule readerships.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Another challenge is that though the Langlands program is sweeping and unifying, the mathematical correspondences themselves are excruciatingly specific and esoteric.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of esoteric

Adjective

Director Padraic McKinley’s debut feature stars Ethan Hawke as a battle-scarred veteran hired to smuggle a fortune in gold across 100 miles of impenetrable wilderness.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026
For most of our history as a country, and certainly in the post-World War II nuclear era, our borders felt impenetrable.

— Michael Silver, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of impenetrable

Adjective

Hasan deftly handles political seriousness and an unfathomable history and present of war and punitive state violence against Palestinians.

— Matthew Carey, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
Dolphins fandom has been a miserable existence for more than a quarter century now, and for reasons that extend well beyond the unfathomable 25-year playoff victory drought in a league that prioritizes parity.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 20 Sep. 2026