as in incomprehensible
impossible to understand
uttered only a string of unintelligible murmurs
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Recent Examples of unintelligible
The words were unintelligible on the video, but Sacramento Police Department officials in a statement summarizing the incident said the man told officers to shoot him.
—
Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 May 2025
Howard spoke with officers but was unintelligible, police said.
—Bailey Richards, People.com, 10 May 2025
There is only enunciating, as paragraphs of narrative are diverted into rushing mouthfuls of unintelligible high-speed monologue.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Franklin’s script just doesn’t find an emotional center among so many stock, under-articulated strands, though that may be partly due to thick accents rendering some dialogue unintelligible to American ears.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unintelligible
Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 15 May 2025
Howard spoke with officers but was unintelligible, police said.
—Bailey Richards, People.com, 10 May 2025
There is only enunciating, as paragraphs of narrative are diverted into rushing mouthfuls of unintelligible high-speed monologue.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Franklin’s script just doesn’t find an emotional center among so many stock, under-articulated strands, though that may be partly due to thick accents rendering some dialogue unintelligible to American ears.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unintelligible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unintelligible
Adjective
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Alex Hartman runs the meme page Nolita Dirtbag on Instagram, and tells Rolling Stone the nervous emotions around Mamdani’s win could be in part because of how utterly incomprehensible or cruel many of the Trump administration decisions seem to be.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
26 June 2025
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In a brittle, anxious, nonlinear, incomprehensible (BANI) world where change is the only constant, the leadership traits that once earned respect—tenacity, decisiveness and stoicism—are no longer enough.—
Arthi Rabikrisson,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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Scientists will use this data to study dark matter and dark energy, which make up most of the universe but remain mysterious.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 July 2025
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Modern courtship is already a nightmare, but director Christopher Landon (of Happy Death Day) ups the stakes when a woman (Meghann Fahy) receives a series of mysterious and threatening AirDrops during her date.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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On Thursday, Bloom shared a series of cryptic quotes from Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Jung on Instagram.—
Lianne Kolirin,
CNN Money,
4 July 2025
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The team also discovered two more new species: the cryptic Namib day gecko and the miniature Namib day gecko.—
Aspen Pflughoeft
July 3,
Miami Herald,
3 July 2025
Adjective
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These technologies can imitate voices, faces and even emotional expressions with uncanny precision.—
Jennifer C. Wolfe,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
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The identity of Jake's owner remains as mysterious as the robot's uncanny ability to flatter strangers.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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After Congress reversed course on accountability in 2015, results for everyone got worse, even as progressive jurisdictions started adopting increasingly esoteric equity strategies.—
Matthew Yglesias,
Boston Herald,
9 June 2025
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Of course, Yamagata is a long way to go just to peep some jellyfish, so combine a visit with the misty temples of nearby Dewa Sanzan, three mountains sacred to the ascetics of the esoteric Shugendo religion.—
Jessica Kozuka,
Travel + Leisure,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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When selecting a provider, organizations should remember to look for one that offers robust data protection offerings that ensure the storage sets are impenetrable.—
Dave Friend,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
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Built inside a mountain some 300 feet underground and reinforced by layers of concrete, the plant, which is the most likely target of a potential American strike, is impenetrable by any bomb except the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Future threats to Uruguayan waterfowl conservation notwithstanding, for our group of American bird hunters, another clear-cool afternoon proves ideal to visit the edge of a grove of eucalyptus, a favorite roost for nearly unfathomable numbers of doves.—
Chris Dorsey,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Here are the four teams that did the unfathomable and won on the road: Cavs over Warriors (2016): LeBron James had The Block, Kyrie Irving hit that go-ahead shot and Kevin Love had The Stop in a 93-89 win.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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Outraged, Gauguin located an obscure French law that proved only children within a four-kilometre radius of a school were bound to attend.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
11 July 2025
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Chartreuse Made by actual French monks based on a nearly 300-year-old secret recipe, this high-proof, kelly green spirit is a bit of an obscure flex.—
Amiel Stanek,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
11 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unintelligible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unintelligible. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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