intelligible

Intelligible is an adjective meaning able to be understood or comprehended; clear to the listener or reader. It describes content that is made accessible by language, structure, or presentation. In common usage, a speaker may say something is intelligible if the arguments are coherent, the diction is clear, and the message can be grasped without excessive effort. The noun form is intelligibility, referring to the quality of being understandable.

Intelligible derives from Latin intelligibilis, from intelligere "to understand," with the sense strengthened by the broader use of the prefix in- and related roots involved in perceiving or reading. The term has appeared in English since the 15th century and has retained a general sense of clarity and comprehensibility.

In linguistics and speech science, intelligibility refers to how easily spoken language is understood by a listener, often under specific conditions. It is influenced by pronunciation, accent, tempo, intonation, and background noise. Measures of intelligibility are used to assess speech therapy outcomes, language teaching, and broadcast quality. The opposite is unintelligible, meaning not easily understood.

Intelligible should not be confused with intelligent, which refers to cognitive abilities or capacity for learning. In education and communication, an intelligible presentation is one that conveys its information clearly to the intended audience. In technology, intelligibility is related to explainability: how well outputs, explanations, or interfaces can be understood by users, though in AI the term interpretable is more commonly used.