unreadable

unreadable
[[t]ʌ̱nri͟ːdəb(ə)l[/t]]
1) ADJ-GRADED (disapproval) If you use unreadable to describe a book or other piece of writing, you are criticizing it because it is very boring, complicated, or difficult to understand.

For some this is the greatest novel in the world. For others it is unreadable...

Most computer ads used to be loaded with technical specifications, virtually unreadable to the average consumer.

Syn:
2) ADJ: usu v-link ADJ If a piece of writing is unreadable, it is impossible to read because the letters are unclear, especially because it has been damaged in some way.

...if contracts are unreadable because of the microscopic print...

I always cover my licence with sticky-backed plastic, but even then it can turn mouldy and unreadable.

Syn:
3) ADJ-GRADED If someone's face or expression is unreadable, it is impossible to tell what they are thinking or feeling. [LITERARY]

He looked back at the woman for approval, but her face was unreadable.

Syn:

English dictionary. 2008.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • unreadable — index inapprehensible, pedestrian, unclear Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • unreadable — (adj.) c.1810, of written material, dull, distasteful, from UN (Cf. un ) (1) not + READABLE (Cf. readable). Meaning illegible is from 1830 …   Etymology dictionary

  • unreadable — [adj] illegible cacographic, crabbed, difficult to read, hard to make out*, incomprehensible, indecipherable, scrawled, scribbled, unclear, undecipherable; concepts 535,576 …   New thesaurus

  • unreadable — ► ADJECTIVE 1) not clear enough to read; illegible. 2) too dull or difficult to be worth reading. DERIVATIVES unreadability noun unreadably adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • unreadable — [unrēd′ə bəl] adj. not readable; specif., a) not legible or decipherable b) too dull, difficult, etc. to be read with pleasure, comprehension, etc …   English World dictionary

  • unreadable — unreadability, unreadableness, n. unreadably, adv. /un ree deuh beuhl/, adj. 1. not readable; undecipherable; scribbled: His scrawl was almost unreadable. 2. not interesting to read; dull; tedious; an unreadable treatise. 3. extraordinarily… …   Universalium

  • unreadable — un|read|a|ble [ ʌn ridəbl ] adjective 1. ) an unreadable book is very difficult to read, for example because it is not very good or the subject is too complicated 2. ) unreadable writing or printing is impossible to read because it is very small… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • unreadable — UK [ʌnˈriːdəb(ə)l] / US [ʌnˈrɪdəb(ə)l] adjective 1) mainly literary if someone s face, eyes, or expression are unreadable, you cannot guess what they are thinking 2) unreadable writing or printing is impossible to read because it is very small or …   English dictionary

  • unreadable — un|read|a|ble [ʌnˈri:dəbəl] adj 1.) if someone s expression or face is unreadable, you cannot tell what they are thinking 2.) an unreadable book or piece of writing is difficult to read because it is boring or complicated 3.) unreadable writing… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • unreadable — adjective a) That cannot be read or is not easy to read. unreadable handwriting b) Not sufficiently interesting to be worth reading. a machine that cut up secret documents into small unreadable fragments Syn: illegible, indecipherable, unc …   Wiktionary

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