Word
unrecognizable
Phoneticsun·rec·og·niz·able
/ənˌɹɛkəɡˈnaɪzəbəɫ/
UK spelling · unrecognisable
Definition
adj. so different from how you remember it that you cannot identify it. You use this when someone or something has changed so much that you can no longer tell what it is.
adj. so altered in appearance or character that it cannot be identified. Often used to describe physical transformations or significant changes in a person's behavior.
Examples
“The old house is now unrecognizable after the new owners renovated it.”
“After years of living in the city, the landscape of his childhood hometown became completely unrecognizable to him.”
“The digital restoration of the ancient manuscript left the text looking so modern and clean that it became almost unrecognizable to the original scholars who had studied the faded ink.”
Examples
simple
“The old house is now unrecognizable after the new owners renovated it.”
contextual
“After years of living in the city, the landscape of his childhood hometown became completely unrecognizable to him.”
complex
“The digital restoration of the ancient manuscript left the text looking so modern and clean that it became almost unrecognizable to the original scholars who had studied the faded ink.”
Real-World Examples
“The twins were unrecognisable by the time of their mother’s prison visit in May.” “The Britain I grew up in, though – that feels almost unrecognisable, and everyone I speak to says the same thing.” Scan code
englishreference.com/q/unrecognizable