applicability

American  

[uh-plik-uh-bil-i-tee] / əˌplɪk əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

Rarely applicableness

noun

1. the fact or quality of applying to a certain situation or range of situations; relevance, appropriateness, or usefulness.

   Each clinician should evaluate the applicability of these guidelines to their own practice and patients.

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Other Word Forms

• nonapplicability noun
• unapplicability noun

Etymology

Origin of applicability

applic(able) ( def. ) + -ability ( def. )

Explanation

Applicability is the usefulness of something for a particular task. Hammers have great applicability for driving in nails. When something is applicable, it is suited to something or useful for a task. The applicability of a thing refers to how useful it is in a given situation. On a resume, talking about your favorite movie probably would have no applicability: it's pointless. A plunger has great applicability in a bathroom, but no applicability anywhere else. You can think of applicability as usefulness plus timeliness. If something has applicability, it will come in handy at the moment it is needed.

Example Sentences

The model performed well across other p tau217 based diagnostic tests beyond PrecivityAD2, supporting its reliability and broader applicability.

From Science Daily • Feb. 23, 2026

He reinterprets even Lincoln’s best-known private and public writings with unerring applicability and deploys a surprising number of observations that contemporaries shared with each other about Lincoln—tidbits that have largely escaped notice by other scholars.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Finnish Customs said it was still investigating "the applicability of EU sanctions legislation to this case."

From Barron's • Jan. 1, 2026

As the court explained, “that language is expansive and unqualified, confirming applicability to every such person.”

From Slate • Jul. 9, 2025

By 1923, the tenth anniversary of Bohr’s atomic model, physicists were questioning its general applicability.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• appropriateness