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intelligibility

intelligibility

1 6.5
The ease with which people understand speech or writing
  • noun
  • /ɪnˌtɛlɪdʒəˈbɪlɪti/
translation icon : inteligibilidad
  • During the presentation, the speaker's clear voice ensured the intelligibility of the complex ideas.
  • speech intelligibility
  • intelligibility assessment
  • intelligibility level

We're trying to grasp what is really there in terms of its intelligibility.

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Examples

  • When we are speaking, our own stapedial reflex improves our perception of the intelligibility of another person's voice.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Assessments of speech intelligibility provide unique information about the functional speech status of these children.

    Academic text (2015)
  • So what we're really asking about is a kind of intelligibility, right?

  • Perhaps issues of meaning and intelligibility are as important in physical nature as they are in mind.

    Academic text (2017)
  • As if what is at stake is the intelligibility of the human to itself.

    Academic text (1992)
  • We want there to be a law, a way of understanding things, a dynamic intelligibility to all of this.

  • The next step in the process is to calculate a speech intelligibility score for each judge.

    Academic text (2015)
  • The investigation also revealed that relatively younger children might be useful in intelligibility assessments.

    Academic text (2015)
  • However, the consequences of reduced speech intelligibility reach far beyond a speaker's immediate need to communicate a message.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Several studies have investigated the intelligibility and comprehension of synthetic speech systems by people with no disabilities.

    Academic text (2008)

Synonyms

clarity
vsintelligibility
152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

stresses being clear enough to be understood in speech or text
lucidity
vsintelligibility
7 6.0

Clear thinking or speech that is easy to understand

is about clarity specifically allowing understanding in speech or writing
readability
vsintelligibility
6 3.5

How easy text is to read and understand

is broader, including clarity in both spoken and written forms
legibility
vsintelligibility
2 4.1

How easy handwriting or print is to read

focuses more generally on clarity that leads to comprehension in language
clearness
vsintelligibility
1 1.4

How easy something is to understand, for example an explanation

narrows this to being clear enough for comprehension in language
comprehensibility
vsintelligibility
1 4.2

How easy something is for people to understand

focuses especially on clarity in spoken or written language
plainness
vsintelligibility
1 3.7

Being clear and easy to understand

is concerned with overall clarity that lets speech or text be understood
perspicuity
vsintelligibility
  • Formal
1 9.5

A clear and simple way of saying something so people understand

focuses this clarity on making language comprehensible to listeners or readers
understandability
vsintelligibility
3.4

How easy something is to follow and make sense of

emphasizes clarity specifically in speech or writing contexts
lucidness
vsintelligibility
4.4

A clear and easy to understand way of speaking or writing

applies that clarity to making spoken or written messages understandable
perspicuousness
vsintelligibility
  • Formal
9.9

Clear and easy to understand in writing or speech

applies that style specifically to ensure comprehension in speech or text
limpidity
vsintelligibility
7.4

Clear and simple writing or speech that is easy to understand

places that clearness in the context of spoken and written comprehensibility
pellucidity
vsintelligibility
  • Formal
9.9

Clear speech or writing that makes ideas easy to understand

uses that clarity to ensure messages are understood in language forms
graspability
vsintelligibility
5.8

How easy something is to understand

shifts that ease toward ensuring spoken or written comprehension
speech intelligibility
vsintelligibility
  • Specialized
6.7

How well people understand spoken words when there is background noise or bad sound

covers the same idea but across both speech and writing broadly
decipherability
vsintelligibility
7.6

The ease of reading and understanding writing or speech

is about making language clear enough to be comprehended by listeners or readers
interpretability
vsintelligibility
  • Specialized
7.3

The quality of being easy to understand or explain

is wider, applying to general comprehensibility in everyday speech and writing

Antonyms

A state where something is very hard to understand

Something that is very hard to understand

Compounds

6.7

How well people understand spoken words when there is background noise or bad sound

How Intelligible

clarity
152 3.0
intelligibility
1 6.5
obscurity
5 7.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

intelligibility = intelligible (transparent) = intelligible + ity

Standard noun formed from the adjective 'intelligible' using the noun-forming suffix '-ity', with an orthographic adjustment, so meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

Intelligibility comes from an old Latin word intelligere, which means 'to understand' and includes the root legere meaning 'to read', the same root you find in English words like legible and intelligent. So, intelligibility is the quality of being 'able to be understood', which is why we use it for how clear speech or writing is.