audible

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɔdəbəl/ UK /ˈɔːdɪbəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
capable of being heard

Usage: Audible means possible to hear. Barely audible describes a sound near the limit of hearing; clearly audible means it can readily be heard.

The announcement was barely audible above the noise of the departing train.

His whisper was barely audible over the wind.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · capable of being heard perceptible discerniblehearabledetectable clear

Opposites

inaudible silent imperceptible faint muffled

Word family

Derived forms audiblyaudibilityaudibleness

Related forms audio auditory audition audience

Etymology

Through French audible, from Late Latin audibilis, related to Latin audīre, to hear.

audibilis Latin audire Latin *h₂ew- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# audible

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɔdəbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɔːdɪbəl/

## Meanings
1. capable of being heard

## Usage Notes
- capable of being heard: Audible means possible to hear. Barely audible describes a sound near the limit of hearing; clearly audible means it can readily be heard.

## Examples
- The announcement was barely audible above the noise of the departing train.
- His whisper was barely audible over the wind.

## Synonyms
- perceptible
- discernible
- hearable
- detectable
- clear

## Antonyms
- inaudible
- silent
- imperceptible
- faint
- muffled

## Derived Forms
- audibly
- audibility
- audibleness

## Related Forms
- audio
- auditory
- audition
- audience

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: audibilis
- Root: audire - to hear
- Root: *h₂ew-

## Etymology
Through French audible, from Late Latin audibilis, related to Latin audīre, to hear.

## AI Etymology
Audible is from Late Latin audibilis ('able to be heard'), from Latin audire ('to hear'). Important recorded forms include audibilis (Latin), audire (Latin), and *h₂ew- (Proto-Indo-European). The current sense covers capable of being heard. The wider family includes derived forms such as audibly, audibility, and audibleness and related words such as audio, auditory, audition, and audience.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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