as in incomprehensible
impossible to understand
uttered only a string of unintelligible murmurs
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Recent Examples of unintelligible
Transcribers often complained that the wax recordings were unintelligible—dictators needed to speak directly into the speaking tube, loudly, clearly, and at an appropriate pace, but many did not.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 6 Jan. 2026
As satire, Next to Heaven is unintelligible, as though someone is universalizing their own hangups and then skewering them for clout.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
The removal of Spears' Instagram account came after years of public concern and defense over her social media presence, in which the pop star has been seen posting dance videos (including with knives), sometimes with unintelligible and bizarre captions.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 17 Nov. 2025
The vendor said some other things that were unintelligible because of the overlap between her live speech and the lagging translation.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unintelligible
IEEE Spectrum, 6 Jan. 2026
As satire, Next to Heaven is unintelligible, as though someone is universalizing their own hangups and then skewering them for clout.
—Literary Hub, 17 Dec. 2025
The removal of Spears' Instagram account came after years of public concern and defense over her social media presence, in which the pop star has been seen posting dance videos (including with knives), sometimes with unintelligible and bizarre captions.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 17 Nov. 2025
The vendor said some other things that were unintelligible because of the overlap between her live speech and the lagging translation.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unintelligible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unintelligible
Adjective
-
The majesty of the natural world and the incomprehensible vastness of space are almost infinitely rearrangeable variables for documentarians.—
David Faris,
TheWeek,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Arthur is a creepy dude, a generic-looking cellphone store employee with an incomprehensible plan.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
But when a mysterious aircraft sinks into the ocean, Ally’s peaceful world is suddenly thrown into danger and is thrust into a journey real-life marine creatures as the film explores themes of friendship and courage.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The Last House is about a family of four who are suddenly sealed inside their home with no way out and must work together to survive against both their dwindling resources and the mysterious, looming threat keeping them trapped.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Though Hathaway’s work doesn’t make sense of the film’s confusing political turns, her fraught navigation of the personal and the political plays like a magnetic performance from a better movie.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
Fans aren't happy with FIFA for many reasons Then there was the confusing way FIFA is selling the World Cup tickets, from using lotteries to its hard-to-understand array of seating categories.—
Rafael Nam,
NPR,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
His gift is an uncanny ability to solve crimes that leave the LAPD baffled, armed only with the savvy and dry humor reminiscent of the gumshoe detectives of the noir genre.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Cameras now deploy ever higher frame rates, as seen in the uncanny sheen of blockbusters by James Cameron and Peter Jackson, and films are shot, shown, and restored on ever higher resolutions (4K, 8K, and beyond).—
Dennis Lim,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Eurich later posted a cryptic video to @dumbrblnd on April 21 that followers seemed to think was in reference to Murray.—
Tabitha Parent,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
-
In the weeks before Andrew Lloyd Webber announced the New York staging of his The Phantom of the Opera reboot Masquerade last year, cryptic messages and clues began popping up, not least being the appearance of the masked singer outside the Tony Awards ceremony.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
As esoteric as its collection may seem, the bookstore itself makes exploration approachable.—
Kat Chen,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Afshar has been returning to Iran’s southern islands of Hormuz and Qeshm since 2015, photographing the land, its residents and the invisible, esoteric forces that shape life there — the winds, which locals believe to be powerful entities.—
Adam Pourahmadi,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Nate, on the other hand, just needed to show up in something simple but elevated (while honoring Jacob Elordi’s impenetrable Bottega Veneta contract), so he’s styled in a custom Bottega Veneta tuxedo.—
Zoe Papelis,
Vulture,
27 Apr. 2026
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But the war has also shown that missile defenses are not impenetrable, with at least seven US service members killed by hostile action.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Balcony is textbook Manet—grand in ambition, ingeniously composed, visually charismatic, and socially unfathomable.—
Susan Tallman,
The New York Review of Books,
25 Apr. 2026
-
This release coincides with the tenth anniversary of the death of His Purple Highness, the singer, songwriter, producer, philanthropist, musician and multi-instrumentalist with an unfathomable life and work.—
Darío Gael Blanco,
Vanity Fair,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unintelligible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unintelligible. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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