curable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of curable
1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin cūrābilis, equivalent to cūrā ( re ) to care for (derivative of cūra care) + -bilis -ble
Explanation
Something curable can be fixed or healed. A curable illness or disorder can be treated and recovered from. A bad infection can be scary, but it's most often curable with antibiotics. There are even types of cancer that, while serious, can be treated and are therefore considered curable. Another meaning of curable is "able to be hardened, or cured." You might apply several coats of a curable coating after sanding and staining your dining room table. The Latin root is cura, "care or concern," and also "means of healing."
Vocabulary lists containing curable
Power Suffix: -able
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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.
The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness estimates that $30 billion is lost in productivity from preventable or curable eye diseases in India alone.
From Barron's • May 27, 2026
Active TB disease is treatable and curable with appropriate antibiotics if it is identified promptly; some cases require hospitalization.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2026
A new scientific breakthrough in the field of Alzheimer’s research is raising hopes that the cruel, crippling and fatal brain disease may eventually become curable.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025
Leprosy, a bacterial infection also known as Hansen’s disease, has been curable by a combination of antibiotics since 1981, and the facility closed in 1999.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
I knew osteosarcoma was highly curable, but still.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
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.
