passable

[pas-uh-buhl, pah-suh-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR passable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

capable of being passed through, beyond, or over; fit to be traversed, penetrated, crossed, etc., as a road, forest, or stream.

adequate; acceptable: a passable knowledge of French.

capable of being circulated legally or having a valid currency, as a coin.

capable of being or liable to be ratified or enacted: passable legislation.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of passable

1375–1425; late Middle English < Middle French; see pass, -able

SYNONYMS FOR passable

2. presentable, respectable, allowable, tolerable, fair.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR passable ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formspass·a·ble·ness, nounun·pass·a·ble, adjective

Can be confusedpassable passible

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for passable

A serious presidential campaign should have at least a passable answer to an obvious, expected, and potentially disabling attack.
Mitt Romney Lost the Summer: Tax Returns, Overseas Gaffes, & More|Robert Shrum|August 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
What passable comedy has existed in these bleak times has largely sprung from the camp of writer/director/producer Judd Apatow.
‘Ted’ Is Funny: So What Killed the Movie Comedy?|Richard Rushfield|July 2, 2012|DAILY BEAST
You might expect charming or at least passable small talk to be a gateway skill for a politician.
The Awkwardness Olympics|Jill Lawrence|August 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Her instructions were clear and I eventually produced a passable batch of puff.
The Art of Making Puff Pastry|Kate Weiner|February 23, 2011|DAILY BEAST

And on any other network, The Biggest Loser's ratings would merely be passable.
NBC, You've Blown It Again!|Jace Lacob|October 26, 2010|DAILY BEAST
It is passable, for those who can climb a little, and whose clothes do not mind nail-rip or paint-stain.
It Never Can Happen Again|William De Morgan
A gravel surfacing on this section makes it passable the whole year round.
Third Biennial Report of the Oregon State Highway Commission|S. Benson, W. L. Thompson, R. A. Booth, Herbert Nunn
The 3rd Brigade with camels would follow if the road was passable.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force|Sir Winston S. Churchill
He says she looks like a heathen Chinee but otherwise is passable.
Turn About Eleanor|Ethel M. Kelley
The wine was not first-rate, but passable; no sweets: of course one must expect to be deprived of something.
Legends of the Bastille|Frantz Funck-Brentano

British Dictionary definitions for passable

passable

adjective

adequate, fair, or acceptablea passable speech

(of an obstacle) capable of being passed or crossed

(of currency) valid for general circulation

(of a proposed law) able to be ratified or enacted

Derived Formspassableness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for passable

passable

adj.

early 15c., "that may be crossed," from pass (v.) + -able, or from Old French passable "fordable, affording passage" (14c.). Sense of "tolerable" is first attested late 15c. Related: Passably.