legible

[lej-uh-buhl]

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.

legible

/ ˈlɛdʒəbəl /

adjective

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

2. able to be discovered; discernible

Other Word Forms

• legibility noun
• legibly adverb
• unlegible adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of legible¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of legible¹

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

Example Sentences

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.

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

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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.

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

Read more on Salon

"I was shocked when she did, I couldn't believe how legible it was," she said.

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Related Words

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