readability

American

[ree-duh-bil-i-tee] / ˌri dəˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

Also readableness. the state or quality of being readable.
Typography. the property of type that affects the ease with which printed matter can be read for a sustained period.

Etymology

Origin of readability

First recorded in 1835–45; readable + -ity

Vocabulary lists containing readability

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"The Interlopers" and "An Interview with the King of Terror"

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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.

Rather than smoothing foreign-sounding language into readability, he and Buber wrote, “we wish to break through to the spokenness of the Word.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

State department officials say it has been "restructured" to "remove redundancies" and "increase readability".

From BBC • Aug. 12, 2025

But the most difficult trick of bringing Marlowe to the present day has nothing to do with the present; it lies instead in matching Chandler’s masterful balance of pulp readability and literary sensibility.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2024

Both processes influence the readability of the DNA and therefore the gene expression.

From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2023

Thurber, by self-appointed virtuous contrast, saw commas as so many upturned office chairs unhelpfully hurled down the wide-open corridor of readability.

From "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" by Author

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023