different between unintelligible vs unclear

English

Etymology

un- +? intelligible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n?n?t?l?d??b?l/

Adjective

unintelligible (comparative more unintelligible, superlative most unintelligible)

1. Not intelligible; unable to be understood.
   • 1697, John Locke, Letter to the Bishop of Worcester (second reply):

     And indeed, my lord, there are so many passages in your writing in this controversy with me, which for their construction, as well as otherwise, are so unintelligible to me, that if I should be so unmannerly as to measure your understanding by mine, I should not know what to think of them.

Synonyms

• inscrutable, unexplainable; See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible

Antonyms

• intelligible; See also Thesaurus:comprehensible

Translations

See also

• incomprehensible
• unfathomable
• fathomless

English

Etymology

From Middle English unclere, equivalent to un- +? clear. Compare Saterland Frisian uunkloor (“unclear”), West Frisian ûnklear (“inoperative, broken”), Dutch onklaar (“out of order, defective, broken”), German unklar (“unclear”), Danish uklar (“unclear”), Swedish oklar (“unclear”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?n?kl??/
• Rhymes: -??(r)

Adjective

unclear (comparative unclearer or more unclear, superlative unclearest or most unclear)

1. Ambiguous; liable to more than one interpretation.
2. Not clearly or explicitly defined.
3. Not easy to see or read; indecipherable or unreadable.
4. Not having a clear idea; uncertain.

   I'm still unclear about what she meant by that remark.

Derived terms

• unclearly (adv)

Translations

Anagrams

• crenula, lucarne, nuclear