acceptable

[ak-sep-tuh-buhl]

adjective

1. capable or worthy of being accepted.

2. pleasing to the receiver; satisfactory; agreeable; welcome.

3. meeting only minimum requirements; barely adequate.

   an acceptable performance.

4. capable of being endured; tolerable; bearable.

   acceptable levels of radiation.

acceptable

/ əkˈsɛptəbəl /

adjective

1. satisfactory; adequate

2. pleasing; welcome

3. tolerable

Other Word Forms

• acceptability noun
• acceptableness noun
• acceptably adverb
• unacceptability noun
• unacceptable adjective
• unacceptableness noun
• unacceptably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of acceptable¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Late Latin word acceptābilis. See accept, -able

Example Sentences

But a writer’s and director’s willingness to stretch the boundaries of narrative deviation changes our notion of what’s acceptable in film and in life.

Read more on Salon

Motivating certain ideas through funding allows government to have a say in which ideas are acceptable and which aren’t.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Why, he asked, is that acceptable in politics when it’s deplored in just about every other field of endeavor?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In countries that are poorer and more unequal, such as Peru or Nigeria, people tended to view wealth accumulation as more acceptable.

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He further explained that street art became a sperate practice to graffiti writing and from here on became more widely "commercially acceptable to a wider audience".

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• adequate 
• common 
• decent 
• fair 
• respectable 
• sufficient 
• tolerable