Comprehensible
What it means
Clear enough to be understood without unnecessary difficulty.
Reach for it when praising information that its intended audience can make sense of
A labeled diagram made the evacuation sequence comprehensible at a glance.
Words to choose between 6
| playful | |
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| warm | |
| professional |
|
| formal |
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playful
graspable
Fits when an informal voice should stress ease of mental grasp
Careful Graspable sounds awkward in polished prose and is unfamiliar to some readers.
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everyday
Fits when the message is free from obscurity or confusion
Careful Clear also covers visibility, sound, and certainty, unlike this specific comprehension claim.
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everyday
Fits when ordinary clarity for the audience is the main point
Careful Understandable can also mean emotionally excusable, creating a second reading.
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warm
plain
Fits when simple, direct wording is the virtue
Careful Plain language can omit necessary precision and is not automatically comprehensible.
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professional
Fits when content is approachable for people with differing needs or expertise
Careful Accessible is a wider design claim and requires more than comprehensible wording.
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formal
Fits when speech, writing, or signals can be decoded successfully
Careful Intelligible sets a basic threshold and may still require great effort.
Opposites 3
- incomprehensible
- opaque
- confusing
Common phrases 3
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readily comprehensible
The summary was readily comprehensible without losing the key limitation.
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comprehensible to
The revised labels were comprehensible to first-time visitors.
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make comprehensible
One worked example can make the formula comprehensible.
Usage notes
Keep in mind
Comprehensible depends on the intended audience; name that audience when the claim affects access or safety.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Wodencafe, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Updated