legible

adjective

leg·​i·​ble ˈle-jə-bəl 

1

: capable of being read or deciphered : plain

legible handwriting

2

: capable of being discovered or understood

murder sweltered in his heart and was legible upon his face

—Thomas Wolfe

legibility

ˌle-jə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

legibly

ˈle-jə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• accessible
• apprehensible
• coherent
• comprehendible
• comprehensible
• fathomable
• graspable
• intelligible
• scrutable
• understandable

Examples of legible in a Sentence

The document is not legible.

an anxious mood that was clearly legible upon her face

Recent Examples on the Web

Clinical notes are now legible and easy to retrieve but often bloated with unnecessary, duplicative, and, at times, unintelligible content. —Spencer Dorn, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

Today, almost none of it is legible, just layer upon layer of scribblings documenting romance, rivalry, celebration, and mourning through the years. —Elizabeth Friend, Longreads, 29 Oct. 2024

One photo circulating widely appeared to show a mangled pager with some legible make and model information that may point to the Gold Apollo AP-900 alphanumeric pager. —Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 17 Sep. 2024

This productive tension, between legible references and slippery, subterranean mood, became something of Casebere’s signature style. —Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 27 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin legibilis, from Latin legere to read

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

legible

adjective

leg·​i·​ble ˈlej-ə-bəl 

: capable of being read : plain

legible handwriting

legibility

ˌlej-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

legibly

ˈlej-ə-blē 

adverb