bearable

[bair-uh-buhl]

adjective

1. capable of being endured or tolerated; endurable.

bearable

/ ˈbɛərəbəl /

adjective

1. endurable; tolerable

Other Word Forms

• bearableness noun
• bearably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bearable¹

First recorded in 1540–50; bear ¹ + -able

Example Sentences

"Most of the sorties I flew were around 30 minutes long, so the discomfort was bearable. In the end, however, it was all part of the game and still enjoyable," he told me.

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Their costs at the inquests - which would eventually run to more than £63m - were only bearable because they were met by the Home Office which set up a special scheme to cover them.

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Her first order of business, however, is pitting the scowling Ritter and bland, industrious Wittmers, who had managed a bearable distance so far, against each other.

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"And that our teachers can work in conditions that are bearable."

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Shortly after arriving here, Gellhorn returned to the China front and once again left Ernest to be Ernest, this time with an ocean view and manorial comforts, with a bearable touch of pretension.

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Related Words

• livable 
• manageable 
• passable 
• satisfactory 
• tolerable