indecipherable

/ˌˈɪndəˌsaɪfərəbəl/

Other forms: indecipherably

Something that's indecipherable can't be understood. When you can't read your dad's messy handwriting, you can describe it as indecipherable.

You'll find Italian poetry to be indecipherable if you don't speak Italian, and you may find some experimental films indecipherable even if they're in English. If you can't figure out the meaning of something, it's indecipherable. At the heart of this adjective is cipher, which means "code" or "secret way of writing." When you decipher something, you crack the code — but if it's indecipherable, the meaning remains a secret.

Definitions of indecipherable

1. adjective

   not easily deciphered
   “indecipherable handwriting”

   synonyms: unclear, undecipherable, unreadable

   illegible

   (of handwriting, print, etc.) not legible
2. adjective

   impossible to determine the meaning of
   “an indecipherable message”

   synonyms:

   incomprehensible, uncomprehensible

   difficult to understand