indecipherably
1
8.5
- adverb
- /ˌɪndɪˈsaɪfərəbli/
- I expect the infiltrator is quite surprised when my towel-wrapped fist drives a baseball bat through the window and leaves his unfinished message indecipherably shattered across dozens of triangular fragments.
Examples
-
Bernzy begins to mutter piously, indecipherably, over the ailing man.
Fiction book (1992) -
The handwriting on the ancient scroll was faded and indecipherably blurred, making it impossible to read.
-
He whispered the instructions indecipherably, leaving everyone confused about what to do next.
-
The code appeared indecipherably complex, causing the team to struggle with decrypting the message.
Synonyms
5
6.3
Hard to see, hear, or remember clearly
5
6.7
In a way that is not clear or logical
2
8.0
It is very hard to understand
1
8.9
Impossible to go through or understand
1
8.1
In a way that is very hard to understand
1
9.6
In a way that hides what someone feels and is hard to understand
1
6.5
In a way that is hard for others to read
1
7.7
In a way so messy or faint you cannot make out the letters
In a way people cannot read or understand
How Decipherable
Surface Forms
Morphology
indecipherably = indecipherable (transparent) = in + decipher + able + ly
Adding '-ly' to the adjective 'indecipherable' gives the regular adverb meaning 'in an indecipherable way'.
Etymology
The word indecipherably joins in- meaning 'not' and decipher, which comes from cipher meaning 'code'. Think of decipher as 'undoing a code', so indecipherably means 'in a way that cannot be read or understood'.