legible

adjective

leg·​i·​ble ˈle-jə-bəl 

1

: capable of being read or deciphered : plain

legible handwriting

2

: capable of being discovered or understood

… murder sweltered in his heart and was legible upon his face.

—Thomas Wolfe

legibility

ˌle-jə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

legibly

ˈle-jə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms of legible

• understandable
• accessible

Examples of legible in a Sentence

The document is not legible.

an anxious mood that was clearly legible upon her face

Recent Examples on the Web

Incredibly, Baldwin said, both men had headstones engraved with their still-legible names right next to each other. — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 20 July 2026

Machines absorb the frequent, legible and repeatable decisions. — Renana Ashkenazi, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

That said, this probably won’t be even faintly legible on a home entertainment system, let alone the handheld gadgets that kids like the ones seen here prefer to watch entertainment on these days. — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 17 July 2026

For Guzema, the investment in brick-and-mortar is intended to make its craftsmanship, service and emotional proposition more legible in an exceptionally crowded market. — Thomas Waller, Footwear News, 14 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Late Latin legibilis, from Latin legere to read

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for legible

• illegible

Kids Definition

legible

adjective

leg·​i·​ble ˈlej-ə-bəl 

: capable of being read : plain

legible handwriting

legibility

ˌlej-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

legibly

ˈlej-ə-blē 

adverb