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Glite Dictionary
barely legible

barely legible

1 7.1
Very hard to read so you can only understand a little
  • adjective
translation icon : apenas legible
  • A handsome building, it has a barely legible signboard at its entrance reading "New Wine xinjiu," which confirms that the painting shows the harvest season.
  • barely legible handwriting
  • barely legible scrawl
  • barely legible names

Examples

  • RAVE! was the headline in screamer type and in a fancy font that was barely legible.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • He picked up the next letter, the address written in a hurried, barely legible script.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • With respect, General Aldo, this is barely legible and will have to be written again.

    Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973)

  • His handwriting was barely legible.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Above the door - barely legible through the accrued dirt of city years - a sign.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Between the covers, he found a terse note barely legible: "Remember Durer."

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The address Adams had been given, penciled, barely legible, on a scrap of parchment.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • He leaves a faded, old, barely legible sign in his wake: "WELCOME TO COLLIER COUNTY."

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The markings on it were faded, the serial number stenciled on its tail barely legible.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The letters she received from home were barely legible.

Synonyms

unintelligible
vsbarely legible
∞ 8.6

Not clear enough to understand

is specifically about hard to read writing rather than overall meaning
unreadable
vsbarely legible
14 4.1

Hard or impossible to read

is less absolute, leaving only a very small part understandable
indecipherable
vsbarely legible
8 8.8

Too hard to read or understand

is milder, permitting a little to be understood
illegible
vsbarely legible
8 5.5

Hard to read because the writing is messy or the print is faded

is slightly easier so a small part can be understood
undecipherable
vsbarely legible
1 9.1

Very hard to read or understand

is less absolute, allowing a tiny amount to be grasped
crabbed
vsbarely legible
  • Archaic
9.3

Hard to read because the writing is small, messy, or strange

is about extreme difficulty rather than cramped style

Antonyms

legible
11 3.1

Clear enough to read easily, like handwriting or printed text

How Legible

clear
∞ 1.0
legible
11 3.1
barely legible
1 7.1
illegible
8 5.5

Surface Forms

barely legible positive

Morphology

barely + legible

The meaning 'so difficult to read' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'barely' (by a very small margin) with 'legible' (readable). This compositional adjective phrase follows ordinary English modifier + adjective patterns and would be immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

The phrase barely legible gives a simple image: barely means 'almost not' and legible means 'readable', like a faded note where you can only make out a few letters. So it means 'almost unreadable'.