Intelligible
What it means
Able to be understood.
Reach for it when praising communication that its intended audience can make sense of
The revised diagram made the drainage sequence intelligible to non-specialists.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional |
|
| formal | |
| literary |
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everyday
Fits when little effort is needed to follow the message
Careful Clear also describes visibility or certainty, so context must carry the comprehension sense.
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everyday
Fits when plain accessibility to the audience is the point
Careful Understandable can also mean emotionally excusable.
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warm
Fits when direct familiar language avoids needless complexity
Careful Plainspoken describes tone and does not guarantee conceptual clarity.
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professional
Fits when parts connect into a consistent whole
Careful A coherent argument can use language the audience cannot understand.
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formal
Fits when the material falls within the audience's ability to grasp
Careful Comprehensible may still be laborious and less readable than clear.
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literary
Fits when expression is elegantly clear and well ordered
Careful Lucid praises style beyond basic intelligibility.
Opposites 3
- unintelligible
- incomprehensible
- garbled
Common phrases 3
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readily intelligible
The symbols are readily intelligible once the three categories are named.
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intelligible explanation
An intelligible explanation replaced three pages of undefined abbreviations.
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make intelligible
The timeline helps make intelligible a dispute that lasted twenty years.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Wodencafe, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC0 Updated