passably
Americanadverb
adverb
-
fairly; somewhat
-
acceptably; well enough
she sings passably
Etymology
Origin of passably
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 doesn’t solve everything, but mutual assured destruction worked passably well for 70 years to hold off nuclear Armageddon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Kelly has done an even starker about-face on one of her favorite topics these days: trans issues, on which she used to be passably sympathetic.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
You don’t even need to take lessons to play it passably.
From New York Times ● Jan. 23, 2024
For about three quarters of the year, I make do with merely passably flavorful frozen berries that I deploy to chuck into smoothies and brighten up my oatmeal.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2023
The blind girl understood Braavosi and could speak it passably, she had even lost most of her barbaric accent, but the kindly man was not content.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
