glanceable
Americanadjective
-
noting or relating to information on an electronic screen that can be understood quickly or at a glance.
glanceable data;
a glanceable scoreboard.
-
enabling information on a screen to be quickly understood.
a glanceable design;
glanceable interfaces.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of glanceable
First recorded in 1950–55 for an earlier sense “deserving of a glance”; glance 1 + -able
Explanation
Use the adjective glanceable to describe something that can be understood instantly, with a quick look. Road signs are designed to be glanceable, so drivers don't waste time wondering whether they're supposed to come to a full stop. Glanceable is very much a 21st-century word that's mostly used for describing images or information on an electronic screen. Mobile phone apps are constantly evolving to be more glanceable — so that users can read text at a single glance, or almost instantly understand map directions. Anything that can be used this way, from the scoreboard at the football stadium to the weather forecast on your fancy electronic watch, is glanceable.
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.
“These announcements are meant to be quick and glanceable, and if you don’t interact with them, the taskbar will return to showing you the weather.”
From The Verge • Aug. 17, 2022
I think I understand the logic here, which is that the iPhone is a much more glanceable device, and you’re rarely going to turn on your iPad unless you plan to do something with it.
From The Verge • Jul. 11, 2022
This also adds more glanceable information about how Ecobee manages your system.
From The Verge • May 17, 2022
“We want something that’s very glanceable, that can be seen and done quickly.”
From New York Times • Feb. 22, 2015
From the moment I saw renderings of Android Wear on actual wrists all I could thank is that what makes the information glanceable to the user also makes it telegraphable to everyone else.
From Forbes • Jul. 11, 2014
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.
