defeasible

[dih-fee-zuh-buhl]

adjective

1. capable of being annulled or terminated.

defeasible

/ dɪˈfiːzəbəl /

adjective

1. law (of an estate or interest in land) capable of being defeated or rendered void

2. philosophy (of a judgment, opinion, etc) having a presupposition in its favour but open to revision if countervailing evidence becomes known Compare incorrigible

Other Word Forms

• defeasibleness noun
• defeasibility noun
• nondefeasibility noun
• nondefeasible adjective
• nondefeasibleness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of defeasible¹

From the Anglo-French word defesible, dating back to 1580–90. See defeasance, -ible

Example Sentences

Science—the research programme, the experimental method, the interlocking of pure science and new technology, the language of defeasible knowledge—was invented between 1571 and 1704.

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The complex tapestry of riparian rights and “prior appropriation” legal doctrines could even be materially changed by the government applying a type of eminent domain to underlying acreage or defeasible water rights.

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It must be of a thing defeasible, and all the conditions must be strictly carried out before the defeasance can be consummated.

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Wotton’s ‘Tacit Reserve’, which is the principle that all scientific reasoning is defeasible, is of fundamental importance.

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Related Words

• feeble 
• fruitless 
• futile 
• impotent 
• inadequate 
• incompetent 
• indecisive 
• ineffectual 
• inefficient 
• inept 
• limited 
• null 
• powerless 
• unable 
• unproductive 
• unprofitable 
• unsuccessful 
• worthless