legible

[ lej-uh-buhl ]

/ ˈlɛdʒ ə bəl /

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adjective

capable of being read or deciphered, especially with ease, as writing or printing; easily readable.

capable of being discerned or distinguished: Anger was legible in his looks and behavior.

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Origin of legible

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin legibilis; equivalent to leg(ere) “to read” + -ibilis -ible

OTHER WORDS FROM legible

leg·i·bly, adverbun·leg·i·ble, adjective

Words nearby legible

legharness, leghemoglobin, leg hit, Leghorn, legibility, legible, legibly, legion, legionary, legionary ant, Legionella

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use legible in a sentence

So get a legible thermometer, flip on the oven light when it’s time to check and try to keep your oven door clean enough to see in.
How to check your oven’s temperature, and what to do if it runs hot or cold|Becky Krystal|October 18, 2021|Washington Post
The marriage certificate, weathered and timeworn, was barely legible.
An 1870s marriage certificate was hidden behind a picture at a thrift store. Employees set out to find the couple’s family.|Sydney Page|August 26, 2021|Washington Post
There’s no effort to modernize the story, no attempt to make it easily legible to the audience.
The Green Knight is glorious and a little baffling. Let’s untangle it.|Alissa Wilkinson|July 30, 2021|Vox
If they were ever going to, I knew that I would have to try harder to be legible.
The great American cool|Safy-Hallan Farah|July 14, 2021|Vox

Keep things safe and delicious with an accurate and legible meat thermometer.
Optimal Grilling Accessories and Grilling Tools For The Best Backyard BBQ|Irena Collaku|June 25, 2021|Popular-Science
You can have rapport, or you can have fast, legible notes, but you cannot have both.
The (So Far) Failed Promise of Electronic Medical Records||January 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We photocopied the page this very afternoon at the DC Public Library's central branch: I'm hoping the PDF below is legible.
A False Charge Against Fareed Zakaria (UPDATED)|David Frum|August 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The whole figure is clearly legible, except for the feet, which disappear into blood-stained nothingness.
The Shroud of Turin and Thomas de Wesselow’s ‘The Sign.’|Thomas de Wesselow|April 3, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Your next SMS will probably be around longer, and remain more legible, than your tombstone.
Tiger's Digital Sex Trap|Douglas Rushkoff|December 2, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Is not the religion of our ancestors legible in the very ornaments of their house?
Travels through the South of France and the Interior of Provinces of Provence and Languedoc in the Years 1807 and 1808|Lt-Col. Pinkney
His features are harsh, and something of the tyrant is legible even through the adulation of the painter.
Travels through the South of France and the Interior of Provinces of Provence and Languedoc in the Years 1807 and 1808|Lt-Col. Pinkney
A dignified smile was the only reply she made, but in the smile was legible the progress his efforts were making.
An Arkansas Planter|Opie Percival Read
The writing is perfectly legible, and shows no indication of a trembling hand.
Mark Twain, A Biography, 1835-1910, Complete|Albert Bigelow Paine
That commencement is marked, not merely by the words of the dying Prince, but by a great and clearly legible sign.
The Stones of Venice, Volume III (of 3)|John Ruskin

British Dictionary definitions for legible

legible

/ (ˈlɛdʒəbəl) /

adjective

(of handwriting, print, etc) able to be read or deciphered

able to be discovered; discernible

Derived forms of legible

legibility or legibleness, nounlegibly, adverb

Word Origin for legible

C14: from Late Latin legibilis, from Latin legere to read

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

legible

Origin of legible

OTHER WORDS FROM legible

Words nearby legible

Words related to legible

How to use legible in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for legible

Derived forms of legible

Word Origin for legible