intelligible

/ɪnˈtelɪdʒəbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪnˈtelɪdʒəbl/ (ame, ipa) · /in-ˈte-lə-jə-bəl/ (ame, mw)

intelligible — 形容詞

  • intelligiblepositive
  • more intelligiblecomparative
  • most intelligiblesuperlative

1. Describing speech, writing, or other sounds that are clear and well-formed enoug

1.形容詞B2
釋義

可理解的

話語或文字清楚易懂的

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.

例句

Keiko's English was perfectly intelligible, even though she sometimes mixed up her tenses.

Keiko的英文完全可理解，即使她有時會搞混時態。

intelligible + concessive clause with 'even though'

The engineer's mumbling was barely intelligible during the team meeting.

那位工程師的咕噥在團隊會議上幾乎讓人聽不懂。

barely intelligible (negative polarity adverb)

同義詞
  • 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

反義詞
  • 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.

常見錯誤

❌The professor's lecture was intelligent and everyone followed it.
✅The professor's lecture was intelligible and everyone followed it.
💡'Intelligent' means having a high mental ability; 'intelligible' means clear enough to be understood.
❌He spoke very intelligent English during the interview.
✅He spoke very intelligible English during the interview.
💡'Intelligent English' suggests clever word choices; 'intelligible English' means the speech was clear and easy to understand.