marriageable

[mar-i-juh-buhl]

adjective

1. suitable or attractive for marriage.

   The handsome and successful young man was considered eminently marriageable.

2. of an age suitable for marriage.

   a marriageable daughter.

marriageable

/ ˈmærɪdʒəbəl /

adjective

1. (esp of women) suitable for marriage, usually with reference to age

Other Word Forms

• marriageability noun
• marriageableness noun
• nonmarriageability noun
• nonmarriageable adjective
• unmarriageable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of marriageable¹

First recorded in 1545–55; marriage + -able

Example Sentences

"As a result, the difficulty of being considered marriageable can be a social stigma, indicating they're not capable and deserving of the role, which leads to great pressures and mental strains."

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Hale lectures Ernest that the only way he will be successful in this town is if he builds a connection to the Osage people — specifically the single, marriageable Osage women.

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Mauritania was once notorious for the custom of brutally force-feeding young girls to make them more marriageable — a practice referred to as gavage, taken from the French term for force-feeding geese to produce foie gras.

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In India, the legal marriageable age is 21 for men and 18 for women.

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As I entered my marriageable years, I was introduced to suitable men from Lima, Peru; Tenerife in the Canary Islands; Paramaribo, Suriname; and Accra, Ghana.

Read more on Los Angeles Times