comprehensible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- comprehensibility noun
- comprehensibleness noun
- comprehensibly adverb
- intercomprehensibility noun
- noncomprehendible adjective
- noncomprehensible adjective
- noncomprehensiblely adverb
- uncomprehensible adjective
- uncomprehensibleness noun
- uncomprehensibly adverb
Etymology
Origin of comprehensible
From the Latin word comprehēnsibilis, dating back to 1520–30. See comprehension, -ible
Explanation
Anything comprehensible is clear and intelligible — you can understand it. On the first day of school, if nothing your teacher says is comprehensible, you'll know you're in the wrong French class! When you comprehend something, you understand it, so when things are comprehensible, they're clear enough that they can be understood. Go down the hall to the French I classroom, and the teacher's slow speech and clear explanations will make the language comprehensible. If you write your homework out carefully and neatly, it will be comprehensible enough for your teacher to read it.
Vocabulary lists containing comprehensible
Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 5
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Obvious
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"What will never be comprehensible, justified or admitted is violence," he said.
From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026
Art—crude or cruel, adolescent or arch—is supposed to make comprehensible the incomprehensible.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026
"To discover that he had always set out to hurt the vulnerable is beyond comprehensible," she said.
From BBC • Jan. 23, 2025
The impulse to domesticate performance into a comprehensible story was denied by the sensory bombardment of his productions.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2025
What was less comprehensible, however, was how Robbie imperiously raised his hand now, as though issuing a command which Cecilia dared not disobey.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
