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# unintelligibility

noun (unintelligibility — uncountable)

«unintelligibility» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

(formal) Unintelligibility is the state of being impossible or very hard to understand, especially speech or writing that cannot be made out. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unintelligibility/#m1)

### In the lessons

A formal, long word used about speech, handwriting, radio signals and messages. In language and science talk: the unintelligibility of a noisy signal, or of two languages to each other's speakers. In everyday talk say «you can't make it out».

### Examples

- The unintelligibility of the old letter made it hard to read. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unintelligibility/#x1)
- The radio message crackled into unintelligibility. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unintelligibility/#x2)
- Mumbling leads to unintelligibility. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unintelligibility/#x3)
- The unintelligibility of the code kept the secret safe. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unintelligibility/#x4)
- Teachers complained about the unintelligibility of his handwriting. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unintelligibility/#x5)
- Two dialects can drift towards unintelligibility over centuries. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unintelligibility/#x6)

### Note

Uncountable and very formal. Built from «intelligible» (able to be understood) + «un-» + «-ity». It has nothing to do with being unintelligent.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «unintelligibility» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/unintelligibility/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«unintelligibility» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/unintelligibility.html) on Mova free.