unreadable

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ʌnˈridəbəl/ UK /ʌnˈriːdəbəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
impossible to read or too dull to read

His handwriting was practically unreadable.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · impossible to read or too... illegible indecipherable incomprehensible unintelligible turgid

Opposites

readable legible intelligible

Word family

Derived forms unreadablyunreadability

Etymology

From un- ('not') + readable, from read, from Old English rǣdan ('to advise, interpret, read'), from Proto-Germanic *rēdaną.

un- Old English rǣdan Old English *rēdaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# unreadable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ʌnˈridəbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ʌnˈriːdəbəl/

## Meanings
1. impossible to read or too dull to read

## Examples
- His handwriting was practically unreadable.

## Synonyms
- illegible
- indecipherable
- incomprehensible
- unintelligible
- turgid

## Antonyms
- readable
- legible
- intelligible

## Derived Forms
- unreadably
- unreadability

## Related Forms
- read
- readable
- unread

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: rǣdan
- Root: *rēdaną

## Etymology
From un- ('not') + readable, from read, from Old English rǣdan ('to advise, interpret, read'), from Proto-Germanic *rēdaną.

## AI Etymology
Unreadable comes from un- ('not') + readable, from read, from Old English rǣdan ('to advise, interpret, read'), from Proto-Germanic *rēdaną. In current use it is an adjective meaning "impossible to read or too dull to read". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The prefix un- is negative or privative, marking the absence, denial, or opposite of the base idea. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English un-, Old English rǣdan, and Proto-Germanic *rēdaną. Related English forms include read, readable, and unread. Derived forms include unreadably and unreadability. As a result, the modern word is best read as a negative, privative, or reversative formation built on a historically older base.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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