What does inaudible mean?
Inaudible describes a sound that is too quiet, faint, or indistinct to be heard clearly. It is more specific than simply saying that something is quiet: a phone may be inaudible in a noisy street because the surrounding noise overwhelms it, or a person's murmur may be inaudible because it is too soft. The word can also apply to a sound that is technically present but cannot be distinguished from other noises. In everyday use, inaudible is often associated with secrecy or uncertainty, as when someone speaks too quietly to be understood or a communication is lost. It is distinct from silent, which implies an absence of sound, and from unintelligible, which may describe speech that can be heard but not understood. The term is useful when precision matters because it identifies not merely a lack of volume, but a failure of audibility.
adjectiveToo faint or quiet to be heard. It can also describe a sound that cannot be distinguished or perceived.
- Too quiet or faint to be heard.
- Unable to be heard clearly enough to distinguish or perceive.
"Her reply was so inaudible that he had to ask her to repeat it."
"The engine produced an inaudible hum beneath the louder traffic noise."
"He watched the figures move across the field, their conversation inaudible from the opposite bank."
An inaudible sound is the acoustic equivalent of a whisper heard through a closed door: it may be there, but the evidence is too faint to trust.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does inaudible come from?
The word is formed in English from the prefix in-, meaning not or without, and audible, meaning capable of being heard. Both elements ultimately relate to Latin audire, to hear, which also underlies cognates such as audience, audit, and audio. The combined form inaudible developed as the opposite of audible and is used for sounds that cannot be heard clearly.
Related word forms
How inaudible is actually used
The word is formal and precise. It is commonly used for sounds that exist but cannot be heard clearly, rather than for something that makes no sound at all.
Easily confused with inaudible
An inaudible sound cannot be heard clearly enough to distinguish, whereas an unintelligible sound can be heard but cannot be understood.
A silent sound or voice produces no audible sound at all, while an inaudible one may be present but too faint to hear.