conceivable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of conceivable
Explanation
If you see yellowish skies on a humid, spring evening in Kansas, it is entirely conceivable that a tornado is in the making. That is to say, it's imaginable or even possible, so make sure you take every conceivable precaution. If you conceive of something, you imagine or think of it. So, it makes sense that the adjective conceivable describes things that can be imagined or thought of. People often use the word conceivable in extreme contexts. If you look everywhere for your homework but still can't find it, you might declare, "I searched in every conceivable location! My homework must have disappeared." In response, your teacher might remark that disappearing homework is inconceivable, or "impossible to imagine."
Vocabulary lists containing conceivable
Ungifted
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 6
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Hard Times
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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.
Justin Patterson of KeyBanc Capital said “it is conceivable that the scope of MSL’s ambitions have narrowed vs. Meta’s original AI goals when it began the capex cycle.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Of course, in the atomic age, wars between imperial great powers, as in World War I and World War II, are no longer truly conceivable.
From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026
It is conceivable that all three men could reach a deal which involved economic concessions by China to the U.S.;
From MarketWatch ● May 31, 2026
It remains entirely conceivable that our mid-year forecast of the 4.5% area is very achievable, but for now we’re undeniably looking up in yield, and we remain in an overshoot tendency,” he said.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
In even the tiniest neighborhood around the singularity, the curve takes on almost every conceivable value over and over and over again.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
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.
