adjective
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able to be understood; comprehensible
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philosophy
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capable of being apprehended by the mind or intellect alone
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(in metaphysical systems such as those of Plato or Kant) denoting that metaphysical realm which is accessible to the intellect as opposed to the world of mere phenomena accessible to the senses
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of intelligible
1350–1400; Middle English from Latin intelligibilis, equivalent to intellig- ( see intelligent) + -ibilis -ible
Explanation
Use the adjective intelligible to describe speech that is loud and clear, like the intelligible words of your principal which, thanks to a microphone, you were able to hear. When your goal is to make your writing intelligible to anyone who reads it, you choose clear, precise words and give details that tell more about what you mean. You might also include examples. Intelligible comes from the Latin word intelligibilis, "that can understand or that which can be understood." The earlier meaning of intelligible was "able to understand," which today is closer to the meaning of intelligent.
Vocabulary lists containing intelligible
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
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Robert M. Pirsig (1928-2017) Tribute List
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Watership Down
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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.
Also, the inventive, nonliteral staging by director Zack Winokur, choreographer Pam Tanowitz, co-set designers Mimi Lien and Jack Forman and lighting designer John Torres is astonishing to look at but not always intelligible.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
Within months, Sarah lost the use of her hands, then "all intelligible speech".
From BBC • Aug. 20, 2025
That’s a prescient thought, given the only intelligible question one can muster once they see Gaga’s 25-foot dress for the opening act is, “How?”
From Salon • Apr. 16, 2025
The casting of deaf and hearing actors — one to embody and emotionalize a character, the other to sing, speak and jam — fails to harmonize into a resonant or even intelligible interpretation.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2024
By linguistic and cultural standards, there were then 12,000 Foré, speaking two mutually intelligible dialects and living in 65 villages of several hundred people each.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
