English Reference
Noun

readability

n. uncountable
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˌɹidəˈbɪɫɪti/ UK /ɹˌiːdəbˈɪlɪti/ read·abil·i·ty UK spelling readabilities

n.how easy it is to read and understand a piece of writing. It depends on the length of the words and the sentences.

n.the ease with which a text can be read and understood. Often measured by the complexity of vocabulary and the length of syntactic structures.


SIMPLE

The report has high readability because it uses simple words.

CONTEXTUAL

The editor suggested changing the long sentences to improve the readability for a younger audience.

COMPLEX

While the author's prose is technically sophisticated, the lack of paragraph breaks and complex footnotes significantly reduces the readability for general readers.


From readable + -ity or read + -ability.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Occasional
Updated