illegible

American  

[ih-lej-uh-buhl] / ɪˈlɛdʒ ə bəl /

adjective

1. not legible; impossible or hard to read or decipher because of poor handwriting, faded print, etc..

   This letter is completely illegible.

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illegible British  

/ ɪˈlɛdʒɪbəl /

adjective

1. unable to be read or deciphered

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Other Word Forms

• illegibility noun
• illegibleness noun
• illegibly adverb

Etymology

Origin of illegible

First recorded in 1605–15; il- ² + legible

Explanation

When your friend scribbles a note to you and you can’t figure out what it says, it’s because her handwriting is illegible — it’s unreadable. The adjective illegible is often used to describe handwriting, because people tend to have their own styles and sometimes write in a pretty messy way. But it can also refer to printed words that are faded or for some other reason difficult to read. If you leave a book open in the rain, the print will probably become illegible. If you’re walking in an old graveyard, the writing on the tombstones is often illegible.

Example Sentences

Both the paintings and the earthenware are scribbled with an illegible stream of consciousness poetry that Finley is channeling while making the work — often only visible in texture when the light hits right.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025

Also, a machine-learning model of the script was created to restore the illegible and damaged texts, paving the way for further research.

From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025

For example, personal information on a ticket stub could be replaced with illegible letters, or a private building exchanged for a fake building or other landscape features.

From Science Daily • May 29, 2024

All other bullet points in the list of content limitations are photo-moderation rules addressing illegible or copyrights images.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2024

But the rest of that paragraph is illegible.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Related Words

• indecipherable
• unintelligible