passably

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

adverb

1. fairly; moderately.

   a passably good novel.

passably

/ ˈpɑːsəblɪ /

adverb

1. fairly; somewhat

2. acceptably; well enough

   she sings passably

Word History and Origins

Origin of passably¹

First recorded in 1600–10; passable + -ly

Example Sentences

That, and mimicry: exceptional on Anderson’s part, less on that of Sewell, who has a raspier voice and a more passably serious manner than the prince displayed on TV.

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He steals a bag of money from a couple of corrupt cops and is pursued by a robot police dog in a chase scene that’s brisk, legible and passably tense.

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You don’t even need to take lessons to play it passably.

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Rachvelishvili thought the first performance went passably, but the company’s administration disagreed.

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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.

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Related Words

• a bit 
• a little 
• comparatively 
• fairly 
• kind of 
• pretty 
• quite 
• relatively 
• slightly 
• somewhat