readability
gb/ɹˌidəbˈɪlɪti/ us/ɹˌidəbˈɪlɪti/
C1
English
Senses
0 senses
Noun
C1
property
1
ease of understanding text
how easy a text is to read and understand.
Usage pattern:
readability of [text/document/article/code]
Common mistake:
Do not use readability to mean a person's ability to read; use reading ability or literacy.
Synonyms
clarity (emphasizes how clear the meaning is)
|
accessibility (emphasizes being easy for a wide range of people to understand)
|
intelligibility (more formal; emphasizes being understandable)
Antonyms
obscurity (the quality of being hard to understand)
|
complexity (difficulty caused by complicated structure or ideas)
|
unreadability (the quality of being very difficult or impossible to read)
Collocations
improve readability
|enhance readability
|increase readability
|poor readability
|high readability
|the readability of a text
|document readability
|website readability
|code readability
|readability for users
Themes
writing
|education
|publishing
|communication
Examples
- The editor shortened several long sentences to improve the article's readability.
- Clear headings and short paragraphs can make a website much better for readability.
- In software teams, code readability is often more important than clever tricks.
Learner examples
- Short sentences improve readability.
- This report has good readability.
Noun
C1
property
2
ease of seeing text
how easy printed or displayed words are to see and read.
Usage pattern:
readability of [font/layout/screen/sign]
Common mistake:
Legibility is often the more precise word for how easy letters are to recognize, especially in handwriting or fonts.
Synonyms
legibility (more precise for letters or handwriting being easy to recognize)
|
clarity (general word for being visually clear)
Antonyms
illegibility (the quality of being hard or impossible to make out visually)
|
unreadability (the quality of being too hard to read)
Collocations
font readability
|screen readability
|improve readability
|text readability
|layout readability
|readability on mobile devices
|readability in sunlight
|poor readability
|high contrast for readability
|small-screen readability
Themes
design
|typography
|technology
|visual_design
Examples
- The designer increased the font size to improve readability on small screens.
- Low contrast between the text and background reduces readability.
- The sign's readability was poor from a distance.
Learner examples
- This font has good readability.
- Bright sunlight can reduce screen readability.
Grammar
Dictionary form
readability
IPA
GB/ɹˌidəbˈɪlɪti/
US/ɹˌidəbˈɪlɪti/
Syllables & stress
read - ab - il - ity (4 syllables)
Stress on 3rd syllable (il)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: readability
- Plural: readabilities, readability
Expressions
readability formula
1/ɹˌidəbˈɪlɪti fˈɔɹmjulə/
fixed phrase
technical
formula estimating text difficulty
a formula that gives an estimate of how difficult a text is.
Examples
- The software uses a readability formula to estimate the grade level of each paragraph.
- A readability formula can help writers notice sentences that are too long.
- The Flesch-Kincaid method is one well-known readability formula.
readability level
1/ɹˌidəbˈɪlɪti lˈɛvəl/
fixed phrase
difficulty level of text
how difficult a text is for readers.
Examples
- The health brochure was rewritten to lower its readability level.
- Teachers should choose books with an appropriate readability level for their students.
- The company checks the readability level of customer emails before sending them.
readability score
1/ɹˌidəbˈɪlɪti skˈɔɹ/
fixed phrase
measure of reading difficulty
a number that shows how easy a text is to read.
Examples
- The app gives each article a readability score based on sentence length and word difficulty.
- We rewrote the instructions until the readability score was suitable for a general audience.
- A high readability score does not always mean the writing is good, but it can show that it is easy to follow.
readability test
1/ɹˌidəbˈɪlɪti tˈɛst/
fixed phrase
assessment of text ease
a way to check how easy a text is to read.
Examples
- Before publishing the patient leaflet, the team ran a readability test.
- The readability test showed that the legal notice was too difficult for most readers.
- Some readability tests are useful, but they cannot judge tone or accuracy.