as in understandable
capable of being understood
speculation on the odds that a communication from a far-off planet would be intelligible
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Recent Examples of intelligible
Well, a University of Texas at Arlington researcher is aiming to turn barks, howls and whimpers of man’s best friend into intelligible speech — a kind of Rosetta Stone of woof.
—
Miriam Fauzia, Boston Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
At a moment when many people’s thoughts and feelings about antisemitism are intense without necessarily being intelligible to others, and when accusations of antisemitism are tremendously forceful, Mazower’s book makes an immense contribution.
—Book Marks
september 25, Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
The story is actually intelligible this time around, but while the mecha designs look wonderful, the characters definitely needed more work.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The resulting voice was often intelligible, but not consistently so.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for intelligible
Miriam Fauzia, Boston Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
At a moment when many people’s thoughts and feelings about antisemitism are intense without necessarily being intelligible to others, and when accusations of antisemitism are tremendously forceful, Mazower’s book makes an immense contribution.
—Book Marks
september 25, Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025
The story is actually intelligible this time around, but while the mecha designs look wonderful, the characters definitely needed more work.
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
The resulting voice was often intelligible, but not consistently so.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for intelligible
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intelligible
Adjective
-
The Oscars cap their nominees at five per category (with the exception of best picture), leading, invariably, to some surprises and omissions — some egregious, some understandable.—
Glenn Whipp,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
-
How the Constitution Actually Works As is with many aspects of Claude’s operation, the constitution is an English natural language document that’s readable and understandable by machines and people alike.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
When skills become accessible, entire communities and economies grow stronger.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Sweepstakes casino websites are readily accessible to Indiana residents and most offer a full range of casino-style games, including slots, roulette, blackjack, craps, and other banking or percentage card or dice games.—
Daniel Wallach,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Mario Kart has to work as an entry point to gaming, something slow and comprehensible enough for your grandma to pick up.—
Ryan Gaur,
Rolling Stone,
19 Nov. 2025
-
That’s the novelist within the essayist, who loves a metaphor and senses that a metaphor will tend to be more comprehensible to the general reader than a thousand pages of closely argued Thomas Piketty.—
Zadie Smith,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intelligible.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intelligible. Accessed 24 Jan. 2026.
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