predictable

American  

[pri-dik-tuh-buhl] / prɪˈdɪk tə bəl /

adjective

1. able to be foretold or declared in advance.

   New technology allows predictable weather forecasting.

2. expected, especially on the basis of previous or known behavior.

   His complaints are so predictable.

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Other Word Forms

• nonpredictable adjective
• predictably adverb

Etymology

Origin of predictable

First recorded in 1815–25; predict ( def. ) + -able ( def. )

Explanation

If you can predict it, I predict you'll call it predictable. In other words, anything that you can see or know before it happens is predictable. When she got out the fine china early in Act I, you could just tell the stuff would be smashed in Act III. It was all too predictable. Given the facts of their lives, the end of their relationship was predictable: he was married, and so was she, but not to each other. The roots of the word are fun to analyze: pre- means "before," dict means "to say," and able means, well, "able." Put them together, and you'll see that predictable means "able to be said before (it happens)" or, simply, something you know of before it happens.

Example Sentences

By targeting these proteins more selectively, researchers may be able to create treatments that are both more effective and more predictable.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

The reaction has been predictable: outrage and confusion.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

It would be a seemingly dependable, predictable roommate relationship, and those are hard enough to come by as it is.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

But cracks began to appear around 2022–23, as back-to-back seasons without major silverware and early European exits sparked doubts over whether the club's famed defensive approach had grown predictable.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

In this sense, even very rare events are quite predictable.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

• certain