marriageable

American  

[mar-i-juh-buhl] / ˈmær ɪ dʒə bəl /

adjective

1. suitable or attractive for marriage.

   The handsome and successful young man was considered eminently marriageable.

2. of an age suitable for marriage.

   a marriageable daughter.

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marriageable British  

/ ˈmærɪdʒəbəl /

adjective

1. (esp of women) suitable for marriage, usually with reference to age

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Other Word Forms

• marriageability noun
• marriageableness noun
• nonmarriageability noun
• nonmarriageable adjective
• unmarriageable adjective

Etymology

Origin of marriageable

First recorded in 1545–55; marriage + -able

Example Sentences

In India, the legal marriageable age is 21 for men and 18 for women.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 4, 2023

Once Rhaenyra becomes marriageable, Viserys fields a plethora of suitors for her hand.

From Salon • Oct. 22, 2022

By stringing Herrick along, Chrane had “prevented him from paying court to other eligible and marriageable ladies.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 21, 2021

Sense and Sensibility South Coast Repertory’s 55th season opens with a delicious stage adaptation of the beloved Jane Austen novel about two marriageable sisters governed, respectively, by the head and by the heart.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2018

Greeley received a letter thanking him for his generosity, but the family felt Maggie’s sporadic years of education were sufficient for a young lady of the marriageable age of seventeen.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock