intelligible
adjective
in·tel·li·gi·ble in-ˈte-lə-jə-bəl 
1
: capable of being understood or comprehended
jargon intelligible only to the initiated
2
: apprehensible by the intellect only
intelligibility
in-ˌte-lə-jə-ˈbi-lə-tē
noun intelligibleness
in-ˈte-lə-jə-bəl-nəs
noun intelligibly
in-ˈte-lə-jə-blē
adverb 
Synonyms
- accessible
- apprehensible
- coherent
- comprehendible
- comprehensible
- fathomable
- graspable
- legible
- scrutable
- understandable
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the ability to make complex concepts intelligible to the average reader Very little of the recording was intelligible.
Recent Examples on the Web Other examples of mutually intelligible dialects being counted as languages include the Czech and Slovak spoken in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Hindi and Urdu of India and Pakistan, and Norwegian and Danish in Norway and Denmark. 
Anyssa Murphy, The Conversation, 23 May 2022 Campaign strategist James Carville, a character almost too strange for fiction, is reshaped into the still aggressively Southern but more intelligible strategist Richard Jemmons, played by Billy Bob Thornton. Osita Nwanevu, The New Republic, 25 Apr. 2022 So whenever Britain emerges from one of its political upheavals, calls emerge for the country to codify its constitution in a single, intelligible document like the United States’. Tom Mctague, The Atlantic, 15 July 2022 The Rohingya have their own language, mutually intelligible with the Chittagonian language spoken in this part of Bangladesh. New York Times, 2 May 2022 The Ryūkyūan languages split from what would become the mainstream Japanese language over 2,000 years ago, and are not mutually intelligible. Anyssa Murphy, The Conversation, 23 May 2022 Following a car crash and severe stroke at age 20, the man, known as Pancho, lost the ability to produce intelligible speech. New York Times, 12 May 2022 The higher power will allow SCUPLS to transmit intelligible voice messages out to 1,000 meters, and the flash-bangs will produce a sound level of up to 165 decibels, the equivalent of standing inside a jet engine. David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, 23 May 2022 The information exists, as its near instant assembly into an intelligible pattern after the Buffalo killings and so many others testifies. Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 17 May 2022 See More
Anyssa Murphy, The Conversation, 23 May 2022 Campaign strategist James Carville, a character almost too strange for fiction, is reshaped into the still aggressively Southern but more intelligible strategist Richard Jemmons, played by Billy Bob Thornton. Osita Nwanevu, The New Republic, 25 Apr. 2022 So whenever Britain emerges from one of its political upheavals, calls emerge for the country to codify its constitution in a single, intelligible document like the United States’. Tom Mctague, The Atlantic, 15 July 2022 The Rohingya have their own language, mutually intelligible with the Chittagonian language spoken in this part of Bangladesh. New York Times, 2 May 2022 The Ryūkyūan languages split from what would become the mainstream Japanese language over 2,000 years ago, and are not mutually intelligible. Anyssa Murphy, The Conversation, 23 May 2022 Following a car crash and severe stroke at age 20, the man, known as Pancho, lost the ability to produce intelligible speech. New York Times, 12 May 2022 The higher power will allow SCUPLS to transmit intelligible voice messages out to 1,000 meters, and the flash-bangs will produce a sound level of up to 165 decibels, the equivalent of standing inside a jet engine. David Hambling, Popular Mechanics, 23 May 2022 The information exists, as its near instant assembly into an intelligible pattern after the Buffalo killings and so many others testifies. Holman W. Jenkins, WSJ, 17 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin intelligibilis, from intelligere
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Kids Definition
intelligible
adjective
in·tel·li·gi·ble in-ˈte-lə-jə-bəl
: possible to understand
Her message was barely intelligible.
intelligible
adjective
as in understandable
capable of being understood speculation on the odds that a communication from a far-off planet would be intelligible Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- understandable
- comprehensible
- accessible
- coherent
- comprehendible
- legible
- scrutable
- graspable
- apprehensible
- fathomable
- decipherable
- articulate
- straightforward
- simple
- fluent
- plain
- well-spoken
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- incomprehensible
- incoherent
- inscrutable
- obscure
- insensible
- mysterious
- esoteric
- inarticulate
- cryptic