Syntaxiom

undecipherable

/ʌndɪˈsaɪfəɹəbəl/ adj

Not easily deciphered; difficult to read.

Word Origin Cipher comes from Arabic ṣifr 'zero, empty' — the same word that gave us zero. In medieval times, cipher meant 'zero' and then 'secret code' because codes were often written with zeros and symbols. Decipher means to decode, literally 'to take down the cipher'. Undecipherable adds un- 'not' and -able, so 'not able to be decoded'. The Arabic root ṣifr also gives us cipher, zero, and even decipher, so undecipherable is literally 'not able to be un-zeroed'.

adj Not easily deciphered; difficult to read.

The ancient manuscript was undecipherable due to faded ink.

(形容词) 难以辨认的；无法破译的

由于墨水褪色，这份古老的手稿难以辨认。

(adjetivo) indescifrable; ilegible [Que no se descifra fácilmente; difícil de leer.]

El manuscrito antiguo era indescifrable debido a la tinta desvanecida.

(adjectif) indéchiffrable; illisible [Difficile à déchiffrer ; peu lisible.]

Le manuscrit ancien était indéchiffrable à cause de l'encre estompée.

(Adjektiv) unentzifferbar; unleserlich [Nicht entzifferbar; schwer oder unmöglich zu lesen oder zu verstehen.]

Die alte Handschrift war aufgrund der verblassten Tinte **undecipherable**.

(形容詞) 解読しにくい、読み取ることが困難な。

その古代の写本は faded ink のために undecipherable だった。

(adjetivo) indecifrável; ilegível [Não facilmente decifrado; difícil de ler.]

O manuscrito antigo era indecifrável devido à tinta desbotada.

Synonyms: illegible unreadable indecipherable unclear cryptic obscure Antonyms: decipherable legible readable clear
Word parts: un + de + cipher + able

Related words

decipherable

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