understandable
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of understandable
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: originally, “capable of understanding”; understand + -able
Explanation
Something understandable can be understood or grasped. It makes sense. Since understanding something means you comprehend or get it, when things are understandable, they can be perceived or fathomed. If a friend cancels plans to see a movie because he's sick, that's understandable. Leaving one job for a better paying job is understandable. Eating a lot of cake on your birthday is understandable. Understandable things are easy to grasp and no one is likely to doubt or question them. The opposite of understandable would be weird, odd, or inexplicable.
Vocabulary lists containing understandable
-able, -ible
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-able, -ible
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-able, -ible
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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.
"It's understandable because GPs are often confronted with depressed patients and therefore they're very focused on diagnosing depression correctly," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
And, yes, the desire to do things yourself is understandable, if sometimes regrettable.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers on Monday said that some price increases were understandable, given higher costs for fuel, ingredients, packaging and shipping.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026
A child interrupting a meeting became, depending on the meeting, either completely understandable or still mortifying.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Their explanation makes the Milky Way useful as well as understandable.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
