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

Mainly the trip to this trompe l’oeil house of mystery feels like a detour, though Mr. Freeman’s presence makes it bearable.

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Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who had made his time in prison "bearable".

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In Japan, as in the U.S., a new leader wants the central bank to make government debt more bearable, which could feed inflation.

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"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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Related Words

• livable 
• manageable 
• passable 
• satisfactory 
• tolerable