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

Steps like these will ensure your message is legible to AI tools, positioning you for success on search, social, voice and beyond. —Drew Chapin, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024

Dear Tongue-Tied, Right now, your family members are not morally legible to you. —Sigal Samuel, Vox, 15 Dec. 2024

Framed within the two-piece 40 mm solid bronze alloy case, the matte black sandwich dial remains highly legible with central hour and minute functions, running seconds at six o’clock, and a date function at three. —Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 30 July 2024

Then the door opened, and in came some kind of young person, tall and heron-thin, in a jumpsuit dirty at the knees, wearing a buzz cut that shone golden under the fluorescents and a gender that was not immediately legible. —Lauren Groff, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 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