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usable

us·a·ble

usable

 
pronunciation:
yu z bl
features:
Word Parts
part of speech: adjective
definition: able or fit for being used.
This printer is old but usable.
similar words:
practical, useful
derivations: usably (adv.), usability (n.), usableness (n.)
Word Parts  About this feature
The word usable contains the following part:
-able, -ible, -ble Latin adjective-forming suffix that means capable of being, doing, or undergoing
Show wordsHide wordsMore about this word part:
The suffix -able , and its variants, is attached to Latin verb roots or English transitive verbs to form adjectives. (In a small set of cases, -able is attached to a noun, e.g. knowledgeable and marriageable.) For spelling purposes, it is useful to know that -able is more likely to be added to a whole English word (comparable, adorable ), while -ible is more likely to follow a bound root (visible , legible ). However,there are still many words which combine a root with -able (capable , inevitable ). The suffix -ity can be added to any adjective ending in -able , -ible , -ble to produce a corresponding noun ending in -ability, -ibility, -bility (possible + -ity > possibility; irrevocable + -ity > irrevocability.)