Meaning & use
speech intelligibility
Last updated
Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
the degree to which spoken words can be understood by a listener.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'speech intelligibility is high', not 'a speech intelligibility'.
Patterns
- the speech intelligibility of someone/something
- high/low/poor speech intelligibility
- improve speech intelligibility
The study measured the speech intelligibility of children with hearing loss.
Background noise can reduce speech intelligibility in a large classroom.
Good speech intelligibility is essential for effective communication.
noununcountabletechnical
in speech technology, a measure of how well a synthesized or transmitted voice can be understood.
Grammar: Also uncountable; often used with 'test' or 'score'.
Patterns
- test speech intelligibility
- speech intelligibility score
Engineers tested the speech intelligibility of the new hearing aid.
The speech intelligibility of the phone call was poor due to compression.
Common combinations
- high speech intelligibility
- The recording was praised for its high speech intelligibility.
- poor speech intelligibility
- Poor speech intelligibility made the announcement hard to follow.
- measure speech intelligibility
- Researchers measure speech intelligibility using standardized tests.
- improve speech intelligibility
- Speech therapy can improve speech intelligibility after a stroke.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clarity
- Clarity is a general word for being easy to understand; speech intelligibility is the technical term for how understandable speech is.
- comprehensibility
- Comprehensibility is broader and can refer to any message; speech intelligibility is specific to spoken language.
Word family
- intelligible adjective
- able to be understood; clear
- intelligibly adverb
- in a way that can be understood
Commonly confused: speech intelligibility or intelligence?
speech intelligibility vs intelligence
Intelligence means the ability to learn or understand; intelligibility is about being understood by others.
Practice
The new microphone greatly improved the ______ of the speaker's voice in the noisy hall.
Choose one answer.
'Speech intelligibility' is the correct noun phrase meaning how clearly speech can be understood. 'Speech intelligence' refers to mental ability, not clarity, and the other options are not grammatical nouns.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “speech intelligibility”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.