intelligible
/ɪnˈtelɪdʒəbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪnˈtelɪdʒəbl/ (ame, ipa) · /in-ˈte-lə-jə-bəl/ (ame, mw)
intelligible — adjective
- intelligiblepositive
- more intelligiblecomparative
- most intelligiblesuperlative
1. Describing speech, writing, or other sounds that are clear and well-formed enoug
Describing speech, writing, or other sounds that are clear and well-formed enough for a listener or reader to grasp the meaning without confusion or guesswork.
Keiko's English was perfectly intelligible, even though she sometimes mixed up her tenses.
intelligible + concessive clause with 'even though'
The engineer's mumbling was barely intelligible during the team meeting.
barely intelligible (negative polarity adverb)
Boris found the German news broadcast just about intelligible after three years of study.
Those old audio files are no longer intelligible because the tape has worn out over time.
Chen's presentation was perfectly intelligible to colleagues from all departments, even those without a technical background.
- understandable
More general — can apply to reasons, feelings, or situations, not only speech/writing
- comprehensible
Slightly more formal and academic than intelligible
- clear
Much more common and broader in meaning; also covers visual clarity, logic, absence of doubt
- legible
Only for handwriting or printed text that can be read, not for speech
- unintelligible
Direct opposite — impossible to understand
- incomprehensible
Stronger and more formal; often used for entire ideas, not just clarity of delivery
- unclear
Softer opposite; can mean ambiguous rather than completely impossible to understand
文法句型
be intelligible to + noun phrase
用法筆記
Often appears in negative or near-negative constructions (unintelligible, barely intelligible, not intelligible) to signal that something is hard or impossible to follow.