legible

American  

[lej-uh-buhl] / ˈlɛdʒ ə bəl /

adjective

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

2. capable of being discerned or distinguished.

   Anger was legible in his looks and behavior.

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legible British  

/ ˈlɛdʒəbəl /

adjective

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

2. able to be discovered; discernible

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Other Word Forms

• legibility noun
• legibly adverb
• unlegible adjective

Etymology

Origin of legible

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

Example Sentences

The figures’ gestures and facial expressions are instantly legible.

From The Wall Street Journal

Though the paper was wet, both letters were still legible, so Ms Brown began tracking down the soldiers' families in order to pass them on.

From BBC

"It shook the conscience of this court as not even a word or a letter was legible," he wrote in the order.

From BBC

The bandmates dressed in secondhand suits that made them look posh to some and, perhaps more damningly, refused to flatten their class identity into something easily legible.

From Los Angeles Times

The Mom’s Meals menu is full of familiar comforts engineered to be legible as “healthy.”

From Salon

Related Words

• coherent
• distinct
• intelligible
• lucid
• neat
• readable
• understandable