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

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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 illegible As for the mail, not only was there the sheer volume to contend with, but some of the parcels had become moldy or eaten by vermin, while others had illegible addresses. Emily Krauser, People.com, 22 Dec. 2024 No illegible, incomplete, forged or altered entries will be accepted. Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 20 Dec. 2024 Other scholars examining the inscription considered this uncertain, concluding that the inscription could not be read and was essentially illegible. Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2024 Photos from the scene show the tombstone broken into multiple pieces, its iconic inscription now illegible. Dan Perry, Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for illegible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegible
Adjective
  • Additionally, tools like the map and compass are unreadable at night.
    Issy van der Velde, Rolling Stone, 20 Feb. 2025
  • With the help of artificial intelligence, researchers have revealed some of the text inside a 2,000-year-old scroll that was charred during Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 C.E. Scholars are now hard at work deciphering the previously unreadable words.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Customers can make an appointment to browse the merchandise, including furniture, jewelry, silver, and obscure objects from around the globe, before placing their bids in the auctions, which are held exclusively online.
    Frances MacDougall, Southern Living, 17 Feb. 2025
  • Players carry fake guns – such as water pistols – while concealing their identities and running through areas and hiding in obscure places.
    Julia Bonavita, Fox News, 16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The capability allowed users to encrypt almost all of their iCloud data, making messages, notes, photos and iPhone backups indecipherable, even when the information was stored in cloud computing centers.
    Tripp Mickle, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025
  • There’s a circle with indecipherable writing on it, suspended in the center of a larger gold shape.
    Erin Qualey, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Her words hung in the air, jarring against the faint mariachi music coming through the patio speakers.
    Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
  • Anyone who’s watched baseball on television in recent years will be familiar with the faint, rectangular box that appears in front of the batter.
    Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Hinton then offered an extremely detailed scientific explanation of why that's the case -- an explanation that would be undecipherable to anyone but an AI creator like himself.
    Josh Meyer, USA TODAY, 4 May 2023
  • When the Giants finally chose Kadarius Toney, a wide receiver from the University of Florida, with the 20th pick in the N.F.L. draft, the team’s fans in Cleveland took a good 10 seconds to start a slow clap, mouthing undecipherable questions beneath their masks.
    New York Times, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2021
Adjective
  • The next phase of the ceasefire remains unclear Before the current stage of the ceasefire expires Mar. 2, Hamas is meant to return the remains of four Israeli hostages this coming Thursday, and Israel is meant to release more Palestinian detainees and prisoners Saturday.
    Kat Lonsdorf, NPR, 23 Feb. 2025
  • The exact circumstances surrounding Grant’s death were unclear late Saturday, but advocates were circulating a Facebook post by a relative of another man held at Auburn that claimed Grant had sought medical assistance prior to being discovered unresponsive.
    Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 23 Feb. 2025

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“Illegible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegible. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

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