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

The adulterers aren’t written off as bad people; their sins are legible within the context of their lives. —Judy Berman, TIME, 31 Jan. 2025

Layers of graffiti reveal generations of suffering, with older texts barely legible beneath newer ones. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 17 Jan. 2025

Barely legible messages flick up in green, red and yellow, then vanish. —Joel Khalili, WIRED, 15 Jan. 2025

The bad news: air-conditioning controls have gone from physical switches to touchscreen-menu items, and not a single driver display conveys a graphically bold representation of engine rpms that’s easily legible at a glance. —Basem Wasef, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 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