So changed, damaged, or hidden that you cannot tell what or who it is anymore. "The town was unrecognizable after the fire." "She had lost so much weight that she was almost unrecognizable." The word carries a small shock inside it: there is something you used to know well, and now the knowing fails. That is why it turns up so often with almost, virtually, and completely — writers want to mark how far the change went.

So changed, damaged, or hidden改變、損壞或遮蔽到 that you cannot tell what or who it is anymore讓你認不出那是什麼或是誰了。 "The town was unrecognizable after the fire."「The town was unrecognizable after the fire.」（大火後這座城鎮已經認不出來了） "She had lost so much weight that she was almost unrecognizable."「She had lost so much weight that she was almost unrecognizable.」（她瘦了好多，幾乎讓人認不出來） The word carries a small shock inside it這個字本身帶著一點小小的衝擊感: there is something you used to know well, and now the knowing fails有個你原本很熟悉的東西，現在卻認不出來了。 That is why it turns up so often with almost, virtually, and completely這就是為什麼它常常跟 almost、virtually、completely 這些字一起出現 — writers want to mark how far the change went作者想標出這個改變到底有多大。

Notice that the change can be good or bad. A ruined building is unrecognizable; so is a shabby house after a beautiful renovation, and so is a shy student who has become a confident speaker. The word only measures distance from the old version, not whether the new one is better.

Notice that the change can be good or bad要注意這個改變可以是好的，也可以是壞的。 A ruined building is unrecognizable一棟毀壞的建築物會讓人認不出來; so is a shabby house after a beautiful renovation一間破舊的房子經過漂亮翻修後也會讓人認不出來, and so is a shy student who has become a confident speaker一個害羞的學生變得很會說話、有自信之後，也一樣讓人認不出來。 The word only measures distance from the old version這個字只是在衡量跟原本版本的差距, not whether the new one is better並不是在說新的比較好或比較差。

It also gets used for things that were never damaged at all, only disguised or badly copied — a voice unrecognizable on a bad phone line, a face unrecognizable behind a mask, a dish so badly cooked it is unrecognizable as the thing it claims to be. That last pattern, "unrecognizable as X," is worth remembering.

It also gets used for things that were never damaged at all, only disguised or badly copied它也可以用在完全沒有損壞、只是被偽裝或做得很差的東西上 — a voice unrecognizable on a bad phone line像電話訊號差到聽不出來是誰的聲音, a face unrecognizable behind a mask面具後面認不出來的臉, a dish so badly cooked it is unrecognizable as the thing it claims to be或是一道菜煮得太差，讓人根本看不出它號稱是什麼菜。 That last pattern, "unrecognizable as X,"最後這個「unrecognizable as X」的句型 is worth remembering值得記下來。

One more thing: the -ize spelling is standard in American English and common in British too, but British writers and British dictionaries often use unrecognisable with an s. Both are correct. Taiwan textbooks mostly follow the American z.

One more thing還有一點: the -ize spelling is standard in American English and common in British too-ize 的拼法在美式英文是標準寫法，英式英文裡也很常見, but British writers and British dictionaries often use unrecognisable with an s但英式作者和英式字典常常會拼成有 s 的 unrecognisable。 Both are correct兩種寫法都是對的。 Taiwan textbooks mostly follow the American z台灣的課本大多採用美式的 z 拼法。