Vocabulary in context
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Intelligible
Able to be understood; clear enough to be read or heard and understood.
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Imagine This
Imagine reading a dense manual on a new gadget; after a patient instructor explains terms in plain language and adds simple diagrams, the text becomes intelligible and easy to follow.
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Sounds Like
in-TEL-uh-juh-buhl
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Looks Like
intelligent
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Remember This
Rooted in the Latin intellegere, meaning 'to understand'; intelligible is part of a family of words about understanding, like intelligent and intellect.
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Other Forms
intelligibilitynoun
intelligiblyadverb
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Connect With
comprehensible, understandable, lucid, readable
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Note
Use intelligible to describe something whose meaning can be understood by readers or listeners. It refers to clarity of message, not the speaker's intelligence. Distinguish from similar terms like 'comprehensible' and 'lucid' for nuanced nuances.
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Study Deeper
Examples
- The teacher's explanations were intelligible to all students.
- After revising the report for clarity, the data became intelligible to nonexperts.
Synonyms
comprehensibleunderstandablelucidclearexplicit
Antonyms
incomprehensibleunintelligibleunclear
Etymology
From Latin intelligibilis, from intellegere 'to understand' (in- 'toward' + legere 'to read/choose').
Mnemonic
Think of intelligence guiding understanding: intelligible means something you can tell or understand clearly.
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Similar Words
Related words and words with the same part of speech.
Lucid
adjectiveClear; easily understood.
Abstruse
adjectiveDifficult to understand; obscure or highly complex.
Accidental
adjectiveHappening by chance or without deliberate planning; not intended. In music, it is also a noun for a symbol that temporarily alters a pitch.
Acerbic
adjectiveSharp or biting in tone or taste; caustic or mordant in manner.
Acquiescent
adjectiveReady to agree or approve without protest; compliant.
Adamant
adjectiveRigid in opinion or purpose; not willing to change one's mind or position.
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