barely understandable

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase “barely understandable” is correct and usable in written English.
It is typically used to describe something complex or difficult to comprehend. For example, “I can barely understand the instructions for this experiment.”.

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Encyclopedias

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

10 human-written examples

His existing narrative is in parts barely understandable without some imaginative guesswork.

Encyclopedia Britannica

"If you've ever applied for a credit card, a student loan or a mortgage, you know the feeling of signing your name to pages of barely understandable fine print," Mr. Obama said.

The New York Times

The report deemed the country's big four state-owned banks, which are trying to attract international investors, to be carrying $358 billion of bad loans, almost three times the official tally.The People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, quickly attacked the research as "ridiculous and barely understandable".

The Economist

From any reasonable perspective today, all his NS "theses" are either barely understandable, or simply false.

SEP

Called "Virtual Network Solutions" and announced in a press release filled with so much corporate jargon it's barely understandable, the idea is that spinning up, monitoring, managing, protecting, and tweaking networks is hard for businesses dealing with private and public clouds (unless you're Goldman Sachs, the CIA, or Verizon itself) so why not let a big ole network do it for you?

TechCrunch

Now the driver of the Lincoln, whose English is barely understandable gets out.

Huffington Post

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

50 human-written examples

A few were visibly angry so understandable that it barely needs to be said and were looking for someone, anyone, to blame.

Huffington Post

That hesitancy was understandable: The Spaniard was barely known in the sport and took the Tour lead only after the man in the yellow jersey, Michael Rasmussen, was ejected for lying to drug inspectors.

The New York Times - Sports

But then four years went by, and you've barely thought about gymnastics since, which is understandable, given how little mainstream press attention it receives during non-Olympic years.

Huffington Post

This is what could have caused the government to launch a review: This would be understandable, given that May's government is barely a month old.

The Guardian

Considering their captain took shots point-blank from Brynildson and barely slowed down, their lack of caution is pretty understandable.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When describing complex topics, use "barely understandable" to acknowledge the inherent difficulty without completely dismissing the possibility of comprehension.

Common error

Avoid using "barely understandable" when a complete lack of understanding is intended. Phrases like "incomprehensible" or "unintelligible" are more appropriate in such cases.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "barely understandable" functions as an adjective phrase, modifying a noun by indicating the degree to which something can be understood. Ludwig AI confirms it's used to describe things complex or difficult to comprehend. It suggests limited, but not absent, comprehension.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

60%

Science

20%

Wiki

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

10%

Academia

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "barely understandable" is used to describe something that is difficult to comprehend, but not entirely impossible to understand. Ludwig AI analysis confirms that it serves as an adjective phrase, indicating a limited degree of understanding. While grammatically correct and acceptable, its frequency is uncommon, appearing mainly in News & Media and Science contexts. When using this phrase, ensure that the degree of difficulty aligns with the intended meaning and consider alternatives like "scarcely comprehensible" or "hardly intelligible" for slight shifts in emphasis. Remember to avoid overstating the lack of understanding and use more appropriate phrases if complete incomprehension is meant.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

scarcely comprehensible

This alternative emphasizes the difficulty in understanding something, suggesting it's almost impossible to grasp.

hardly intelligible

Focuses on the lack of clarity and coherence, making something difficult to make sense of.

almost incomprehensible

Highlights that something is on the verge of being impossible to understand.

faintly discernible

Shifts the focus to something being barely perceptible or distinguishable, rather than understandable in the traditional sense.

marginally coherent

Implies a slight degree of logical connection, but still falls short of being fully understandable.

vaguely comprehensible

Indicates a lack of precision and clarity, making something difficult to grasp fully.

slightly understandable

Suggests a small degree of comprehension is possible, but overall understanding remains limited.

tenuously intelligible

Emphasizes the fragility and weakness of the understanding, implying it's easily lost.

questionably clear

This alternative raises doubt about the clarity of something, implying it may not be truly understood.

ambiguously expressed

Highlights the lack of clear and precise expression, leading to difficulty in understanding.

FAQs

How can I use "barely understandable" in a sentence?

You can use "barely understandable" to describe something difficult to grasp, such as "The professor's lecture on quantum physics was "barely understandable", even for physics majors".

What are some alternatives to "barely understandable"?

Alternatives include "scarcely comprehensible", "hardly intelligible", or "almost incomprehensible", depending on the degree of difficulty in understanding.

Is it correct to say "barely understandable" or should I use another phrase?

"Barely understandable" is a correct and commonly used phrase. Other options depend on the context. For example, "marginally coherent" might be better if describing something that lacks logical consistency.

What's the difference between "barely understandable" and "understandable"?

"Barely understandable" implies a significant difficulty in comprehension, whereas "understandable" means something is relatively easy to grasp. If something is "barely understandable", you can grasp a small amount of it. If it is understandable then you can grasp almost every aspect of it.