legible

1 of 2

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

legibility

2 of 2

noun

leg·​i·​bil·​i·​ty ˌlejəˈbilətē 

-ətē, 

-i

plural -es

: the quality or state of being legible

the influence of typeface on the legibility of print

—Helen A. Webster & M. A. Tinker

Synonyms of legible

Adjective

• understandable
• accessible

Examples of legible in a Sentence

Adjective

The document is not legible.

an anxious mood that was clearly legible upon her face

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Crowe, watching from behind one-way glass and turning up in encounters beyond the confines of the study itself, gives that intensity a perfectly legible antagonist, if not always a valid one. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 24 Sep. 2026

Out of the 26 letters of the Roman alphabet, or any writing system, an identity can be assigned, fixed—and made, if not real, then socially legible and governmentally legal. — Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2026

Have there been cases where a work has become more, as opposed to less, legible? — Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Ko ensured the recipe’s instructions in this book were as pristine and legible as Vongerichten’s cooking is nimble and gleaming. — Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 9 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

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

First Known Use

Adjective

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