unreadable
/' n'ri:d bl/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Not easily deciphered or understood: Refers to text, handwriting, or code that is extremely difficult or impossible to read due to poor quality, complexity, or obscurity.
- Too dull or difficult to read: Can describe written material that is so boring, dense, or poorly written that it is not worth reading.
Usage
- The primary use describes the physical legibility of text.
- It can also describe the comprehensibility of content, implying it is impenetrable or tedious.
Examples
- Physical Legibility:
- The doctor's prescription was completely unreadable.
- The ancient manuscript was faded and unreadable.
- Content Comprehensibility:
- The report was filled with such technical jargon that it was unreadable for a general audience.
- His latest novel is pretentious and utterly unreadable.
Advanced Usage
- In computing: An "unreadable file" is one that is corrupted or in a format that the system cannot interpret.
- The disk error left the document file unreadable.
- Figurative use: Can describe a person's expression that is impossible to interpret.
- Her face was an unreadable mask, giving no clue to her thoughts.
Variants and Related Words
- Illegible (adj): Often used interchangeably with "unreadable" for physical legibility, but "illegible" is more strictly confined to handwriting or print quality (e.g., ).
- Indecipherable (adj): Emphasizes the impossibility of decoding or making sense of something (e.g., ).
- Readability (n): The quality of being easy and enjoyable to read.
Synonyms
- Illegible
- Indecipherable
- Incomprehensible
- Impenetrable (for content)
Antonyms
- Legible
- Readable
- Clear
- Decipherable
Related Phrases
- Render something unreadable: To cause something to become impossible to read.
- The coffee spill rendered the last page of the letter unreadable.
Adjective
- not easily deciphered
- indecipherable handwriting