Meaning & use
unrecognizable
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparable
So changed in appearance that you cannot tell who or what it is.
Grammar: Often used after verbs like be, become, and look, and with words like completely or almost.
Patterns
- be unrecognizable
- become unrecognizable
- almost unrecognizable
After the fire, the building was completely unrecognizable.
He shaved his beard and became almost unrecognizable.
The city center is unrecognizable compared with ten years ago.
adjectivenot comparablefigurative
Changed so much in character or quality that it no longer seems like the same thing.
Grammar: Used for ideas, styles, or situations as well as physical things.
Patterns
- unrecognizable to someone
- make something unrecognizable
The band's new sound is unrecognizable to their early fans.
Years of editing had made the story unrecognizable.
Common combinations
- completely unrecognizable
- The street was completely unrecognizable after the flood.
- almost unrecognizable
- Her handwriting is almost unrecognizable when she is in a hurry.
- become unrecognizable
- The neighborhood has become unrecognizable since the new station opened.
- unrecognizable to someone
- The old song was unrecognizable to anyone under thirty.
Synonyms and how they differ
- unidentifiable
- Often used for objects or bodies that cannot be named at all; unrecognizable stresses that the thing has changed beyond recognition.
- changed
- A general word meaning different from before; unrecognizable is much stronger and means you cannot even tell what it is.
Opposites
Word family
- recognizable adjective
- Easy to know or identify because you have seen it before.
- recognize verb
- To know someone or something because you have seen or experienced it before.
- recognition noun
- The act of knowing someone or something, or public praise for achievement.
- unrecognized adjective
- Not noticed or not given credit, as in 'an unrecognized talent.'
Commonly confused: unrecognizable or unrecognized?
unrecognizable vs unrecognized
'Unrecognizable' means impossible to identify because of change; 'unrecognized' means not noticed, not known, or not given credit.
Practice
After the storm, the beach was ___ — the sand had covered the whole path.
Choose one answer.
'Unrecognizable' means the place had changed so much that you could not identify it. 'Unrecognized' means not noticed or not given credit, 'unreceptive' means unwilling to accept ideas, and 'irrecoverable' means impossible to get back.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unrecognizable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.