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 Sponsor is not responsible for late, illegible, incomplete entries or entries not received for any reason. Time For Kids, TIME, 21 Feb. 2025 His talent was unmistakable, his ego was illegible and his time with us unforgettable. Catherine Santino, People.com, 19 Feb. 2025 With digital labeling, no one has to try to remember who is who in your pictures (or decipher your illegible handwriting scribbled on the back). Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2025 Unfortunately, most of the candies in my box were illegible. Kathy Barnes, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for illegible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illegible
Adjective
  • Fuzzy, unreadable text is now (largely) a thing of the past.
    Barry Collins, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Eventually, the register ended up in the collections of the Cambridge University Library, and in 2019, researchers discovered an unreadable handwritten fragment hidden inside its binding, which triggered a yearslong restoration project.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • But his recitation of Black Americans’ names also revealed that they were heavily weighted toward athletes and performers like Jackie Robinson and Aretha Franklin (on a list that includes relatively obscure conservative white thinkers such as Whittaker Chambers and Clare Boothe Luce).
    Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2025
  • That included obscure cold opens and immersive world-building.
    Adelle Platon, VIBE.com, 15 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • There are neither crude jokes nor wise-ass anecdotes, only quick, indecipherable bursts of jargon.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Researchers at the University of Oxford recently set out to read some of Tennyson’s indecipherable scribbles using advanced imaging techniques.
    Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Being generally smaller, colder and much darker than a star, exoplanets are also harder to detect, so specialized techniques are required for capturing their faint signals.
    Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2025
  • By subtracting these reference images from the target images, the team effectively removed the star's light, isolating the faint signals from the planets.
    Victoria Corless, Space.com, 1 Apr. 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
  • How long those plates can keep spinning is unclear, especially as tariffs start nudging up costs for American consumers.
    Anne Marie Drummond Lee, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2025
  • The precise extent of the cancellations and the specific products affected remain unclear.
    Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Illegible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illegible. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.

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