understandable
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of understandable
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: originally, “capable of understanding”; understand + -able
Explanation
Something understandable can be understood or grasped. It makes sense. Since understanding something means you comprehend or get it, when things are understandable, they can be perceived or fathomed. If a friend cancels plans to see a movie because he's sick, that's understandable. Leaving one job for a better paying job is understandable. Eating a lot of cake on your birthday is understandable. Understandable things are easy to grasp and no one is likely to doubt or question them. The opposite of understandable would be weird, odd, or inexplicable.
Vocabulary lists containing understandable
-able, -ible
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-able, -ible
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-able, -ible
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“EQT’s approach is therefore understandable, given the option to make changes to the business and deliver stronger cash flow growth in the medium term,” says analyst Amit Kanwatia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Libraries, museums, and other institutions have understandable concerns about allowing researchers to take samples from rare and culturally important manuscripts if doing so might cause permanent damage.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Spurs have undergone radical change over the past 12 months amid understandable fan anger, with new chief executive Vinai Venkatesham leading the organisation on behalf of the Lewis Family Trust.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
So there has been understandable backlash when rich celebrities have shown that they are, in fact, exempt from this rule.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
The professor was likable, it was the sixties, not having your creative juices flowing was understandable.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
