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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 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

Life unfolds over an incomprehensible span of scales, from our planet-enveloping biosphere at one end, to individual cell-building biomolecules at the other.

— Elise Cutts, Quanta Magazine, 23 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of incomprehensible

Adjective

Jesse Plemons is superb as his mysterious Kenny becomes a key player in all this, and there is also exemplary work from Emma D’Arcy as Lina, Digger’s ever-faithful assistant, and Sophie Wilde who watches over the action with a keen eye.

— Pete Hammond, Deadline, 29 Sep. 2026
But key details of this profound primordial transition, such as its threshold energy and density, have remained deeply mysterious.

— Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of mysterious

Adjective

Trotting out this try-hard trifecta of confusing, uninspired installments in a year that’s seen so many entertaining, thought-provoking additions to the horror genre?

— Jen Chaney, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2026
The ratings follows another tempest-in-a-teapot bit of You Can See Everything news on Thursday when a typo in the film’s official trailer went viral, with fans becoming convinced the confusing-looking error was intentional — until A24 fixed it.

— James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2026

Definition of confusing

Adjective

Phoebe Bridgers, in her first film role, pulls off an uncanny transformation as a decoy who bends lines of age and gender.

— Joe Reid, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
One of Mahomes’ many uncanny traits is that this traction and momentum will only feed off itself.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of uncanny

Adjective

Olivia Benson dropped a cryptic string of clues that sent Swifties into Easter egg hunt overdrive.

— Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 24 Sep. 2026
Though Room 71 sounds like something out of a sci-fi story, the cryptic name is simply a reference to the fact that 71% of the planet is covered by oceans.

— Pier Nirandara, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of cryptic

Adjective

But then Mehmet is let go from his job teaching esoteric music practices to university students and the household’s sole steady source of income is gone.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
Some say the public backlash to AI, and OpenAI, is partly because messaging from the leading labs can be esoteric, rather than grounded in the day-to-day benefits of AI, and in some cases, downright frightening.

— Emily Forlini, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of esoteric

Adjective

Though Best Original Song can seem impenetrable, as the Music Branch that determines the shortlist and nominees for the category has its own insular politics, Swift has inched her way closer to a nomination with every song she’s written for a film.

— Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 26 Sep. 2026
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

Definition of impenetrable

Adjective

The masked suspect who fatally shot a beloved barber while trying to steal his handmade Miami Cuban bracelet outside a Queens strip club ran off empty-handed, but left those who knew the victim with an unfathomable hole in their hearts.

— Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 25 Sep. 2026
A lot like his unfathomable eternity with the Royals, a job that he somehow was offered as a 25-year-old in 1969 with scant experience.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of unfathomable

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“Unintelligible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unintelligible. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of unintelligible

adjective

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