intelligibility

[ in-tel-i-juh-bil-i-tee ]

noun

, plural in·tel·li·gi·bil·i·ties

1. the quality or condition of being intelligible; capability of being understood.
2. something intelligible.

Word History and Origins

Origin of intelligibility¹

First recorded in 1600–10; intelligible + -ity

Example Sentences

Although comprehensibility of speech is often lost in noisy or highly reverberant situations, we manage to retrieve lost information by concocting lost sounds—filling in the blanks where intelligibility falters.

From Nautilus

They vary in pitch and intelligibility as they reach their excited climaxes—or when she interrupts them to coo at Max.

From The Daily Beast

The intelligibility of the exhibition allows visitors to engage with the issues under debate.

From The Daily Beast

(From the above discussion about the intelligibility of numbers) let us now return to what we said in the beginning.

From Project Gutenberg

His chief aim in writing was plainness and intelligibility, but his want of order and logical precision thwarted his purpose.

From Project Gutenberg

Whether this be an invention or not, it well characterizes his easy intelligibility.

From Project Gutenberg

To attain scholarly accuracy combined with practical intelligibility was, then, the task of the translator.

From Project Gutenberg

The instruction at school was out of date, inasmuch as, in every branch, it lacked intelligibility.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• accuracy
• brightness
• certainty
• directness
• lucidity
• precision
• purity
• simplicity
• transparency