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

The rise of major metropolitan centers around the world, for example, brought with it Baudelaire’s flâneur just as transcontinental railroads made narrative skips in space and time more legible. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026

And making hidden depths legible on the surface is some of what Pugh does best. — Alison Herman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026

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

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