unreadable

adjective

un·​read·​able ˌən-ˈrē-də-bəl How to pronounce unreadable (audio)
: not readable: such as
a
: not decipherable : illegible
unreadable handwriting
b
: impossible to read and understand : incomprehensible
… a flawed, unreadable, misleading bill that garnered support based on propaganda and clever—but false—talking points.Marilyn M. Singleton
c
: impossible to interpret
The expression on her face was unreadable.
d
: not enjoyable or interesting enough to engage the reader
an unreadable novel

Examples of unreadable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This means your Vault won't become unreadable in the future even if Obsidian ceases to exist. PCMAG, 22 Jan. 2024 This error correction capability allows a certain percentage of the QR code's data to be restored if it's damaged or obscured, permitting a level of modification without making the code unreadable. Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 6 June 2023 Anyone in a Dostoyevsky novel who went on an unreadable rant was bound to be contradicted, in a matter of pages, by another ranting character holding the opposite view: a technique known as dialogism, which features prominently both in Russian novels and in my own thinking. Elif Batuman, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2023 The nearly 2,000-year-old texts were unreadable after being charred in a villa in Herculaneum, a Roman town near Pompeii. Bradford Betz, Fox News, 7 Feb. 2024 The goal was met, though there were concerns that too many were dirty, outdated or unreadable. Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2023 However, numerous owners of the drives, including Ars Technica's own Lee Hutchinson, encountered a problem where the drives seemingly erased data and became unreadable. Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 17 Aug. 2023 The 21-year-old computer science student won a global contest by becoming the first person to decipher letters from the previously unreadable papyrus scrolls, which were turned to ash and buried for 2,000 years by the same volcanic eruption that destroyed Pompeii. Bysage Lazzaro, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2023 Your own files would struggle to make the transition with you—many would be forever unreadable. Cory Doctorow, WIRED, 7 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unreadable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1655, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unreadable was circa 1655

Dictionary Entries Near unreadable

Cite this Entry

“Unreadable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unreadable. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

unreadable

adjective
un·​read·​able
ˌən-ˈrēd-ə-bəl,
ˈən-
1
: too dull or unattractive to read
a long, unreadable essay
2
: illegible
unreadable handwriting

More from Merriam-Webster on unreadable

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