Skip to main content
legibility

legibility

2 4.1
How easy handwriting or print is to read
  • noun
  • /ˌlɛdʒəˈbɪlɪti/
translation icon : legibilidad
  • Good signage is crucial for safety, and its legibility can affect whether people can quickly understand important information.
  • font legibility
  • legibility of text
  • legibility and readability

The size and layout of the page, coupled with the legibility of the text made this book well suited to public instruction.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • To locate standards or guidelines on the legibility of text, we searched all potential sources.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Stylistically, his statements, like heraldry for the contemporary world, are characterized by clarity, legibility, and nonambiguity.

    Academic text (1999)
  • How might we develop the aesthetic sense to appreciate the legibility of the human face and form more fully?

    Academic text (2001)
  • The size and layout of the page, coupled with the legibility of the text made this book well suited to public instruction.

  • Three characteristics were used to make the material more understandable: chunking, legibility, and explicit management information.

    Academic text (1994)
  • We located no definitive, evidence-informed literature on font-legibility standards or guidelines for low vision reading materials.

    Academic text (2007)
  • However, there was no strong determination of a definite difference in legibility between serif and sans serif fonts.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Tinker (1963) examined the effects of font size and font legibility on reading speed and comprehension.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Successful graphic design relies heavily on the legibility of text, ensuring that it is easy for everyone to read.

  • For online content, the legibility of fonts can greatly impact readers' engagement and comprehension.

Synonyms

clarity
vslegibility
152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

is more about the text's visual ease rather than conceptual understanding
readability
vslegibility
6 3.5

How easy text is to read and understand

focuses on the same idea but stresses physical ease of reading text
intelligibility
vslegibility
1 6.5

The ease with which people understand speech or writing

narrows this to the visual ease of reading printed or written text
comprehensibility
vslegibility
1 4.2

How easy something is for people to understand

emphasizes visual readability over purely mental ease of comprehension
decipherability
vslegibility
7.6

The ease of reading and understanding writing or speech

focuses on clear visual form so text is readable without effort
lucidness
vslegibility
4.4

A clear and easy to understand way of speaking or writing

is similar but especially concerned with readable appearance of text
perspicuousness
vslegibility
  • Formal
9.9

Clear and easy to understand in writing or speech

places more weight on how easily the writing can be seen and read
understandability
vslegibility
3.4

How easy something is to follow and make sense of

limits that idea to the physical clarity of printed or written text
discernability
vslegibility
7.5

How easy it is to see or tell things apart

is specifically about clear text appearance for effortless reading

Antonyms

1 7.6

Writing or print that is hard to read

How Legible

clarity
152 3.0
readability
6 3.5
legibility
2 4.1
illegibility
1 7.6

Surface Forms

legibility singular
legibilities plural

Morphology

legibility = legible (semi-transparent) = legibil + ity

The meaning is directly derived from 'legible' but there is an orthographic alternation (legible → legibility) that may confuse learners.

Etymology

The word legibility comes from the Latin root legere, which means 'to read', and you see this root in words like legible, lecture, and legend. So, legibility is simply how easy writing or print is 'to read'.