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 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 Death penalty states generally allow last statements from the execution chamber, but Texas catalogs the prisoners’ last words online, except for vulgar and racist language or what sounds unintelligible. — Erik Ortiz, NBC news, 20 May 2026 The man responded, but his words are unintelligible in the recording. — Charlotte Observer, 20 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for unintelligible

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unintelligible

Adjective

Farnaby’s character, a thickly-accented and mostly-incomprehensible farmer, was, of course, called Barry.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
The scale of the commercial-military symbiosis between Washington and Silicon Valley is almost incomprehensible.

— Alex Capri, Fortune, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of incomprehensible

Adjective

These particles efficiently scatter the blue and green light while letting red and orange wavelengths pass through, creating the uncanny feeling of an all-day sunset.

— Michael A. Robinson, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026
The skyline floated like an uncanny but beautiful projection off to our side.

— Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of uncanny

Adjective

Baseball is a sport that thrives on statistics, no matter how esoteric, but there appears to be no record of a professional baseball player previously wearing a mechanical watch during a game.

— Anthony DeMarco, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026
The rereleased games are fascinatingly esoteric, too, including the GBC versions of Croc, Croc 2, Earthworm Jim, and the Japan-only GB shmup, Chikyu Kaiho Gun Zas.

— Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of esoteric

Adjective

Chalk it up to the leftover hubris of late-20th-century American empire and the grand illusion of a liberated civilization thriving behind an impenetrable fortress.

— Andy Andersen, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2026
The rule also failed to tackle all of the ways trusts and other vehicles provide impenetrable secrecy for the wealthy and the crooked alike.

— Casey Michel, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of impenetrable

Adjective

On behalf of myself, our staff, and the Board of Directors, we are entirely devastated by this unfathomable loss to Country Music and the entire world.

— Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026
Building a racetrack in the middle of a city comes with an unfathomable number of logistical challenges.

— Adam Kilgore, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026