inheritable

[in-her-i-tuh-buhl]

adjective

1. capable of being inherited.

2. capable of inheriting; qualified to inherit.

inheritable

/ ɪnˈhɛrɪtəbəl /

adjective

1. capable of being transmitted by heredity from one generation to a later one

2. capable of being inherited

3. rare,  capable of inheriting; having the right to inherit

Other Word Forms

• inheritably adverb
• inheritability noun
• inheritableness noun
• noninheritability noun
• noninheritable adjective
• noninheritableness noun
• uninheritability noun
• uninheritable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of inheritable¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Anglo-French; in- ², heritable

Example Sentences

Scientists in Japan have identified a virus that selectively kills males — and it happens to be inheritable, creating generation upon generation of all females.

Read more on New York Times

The nation itself held on to the mineral rights of the land, granting each member an inheritable “headright” to the share of the nation’s mineral wealth.

Read more on National Geographic

With a genetic predisposition, the inheritable mutations are frequently found in DNA repair genes.

Read more on Seattle Times

After decades of research, gene therapies have begun reshaping the treatment of cancers and rare inheritable diseases with medicines that can modify or correct mutations embedded in people’s genetic code.

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A man fathered 15 children after advertising his sperm on social media despite having an inheritable condition, a court has heard.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• genetic 
• inborn 
• transmitted www.thesaurus.com