heritable
Americanadjective
-
capable of being inherited; inheritable
-
law capable of inheriting
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of heritable
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French, equivalent to herit(er) “to inherit” + -able ( see -able); see heir, heredity
Compare meaning
How does heritable compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Vocabulary lists containing heritable
Evolutionary Biology - Natural Selection - Middle School
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Evolutionary Biology - Adaptation
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Evolutionary Biology - Natural Selection - High School
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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.
But Mr. Zipperstein builds a biography that shuttles us back to the fiction, heritable or not, where the man hid in plain sight.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025
Prenatal genome editing sits within the broader spectrum of human genome editing, which ranges from germline, where the changes are heritable, to somatic cell, where the patient’s descendants won’t inherit the changes.
From Salon • Aug. 17, 2024
IVF aims to help couples achieve pregnancy when medical issues or concerns about heritable genetic mutations raise concerns about the health of their prospective offspring.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2024
In its final third, “Real Americans” raises ethical questions about the research conducted by both May and Nick to edit genes to eliminate heritable diseases.
From Seattle Times • May 15, 2024
Like Mendel, Morgan began by identifying heritable traits—visible variants that he could track over generations.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
