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

• 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

There's also a front light with an auto-adjusting sensor on board, so the screen should be legible indoors and out. —New Atlas, 1 Oct. 2025

In both cases, the Jolly Roger flag worked like open-source code – adaptable locally but instantly legible elsewhere. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 24 Sep. 2025

In December 2024, independent journalist Ken Klippenstein published a transcript of the legible parts of the alleged manifesto. —Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025

Apple diffuses the color and shape of underlying content somewhat and dims it a little so that all of the UI that's up there at the top of the screen stays legible, which usually works but occasionally doesn't. —ArsTechnica, 15 Sep. 2025

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