predictable
Americanadjective
-
able to be foretold or declared in advance.
New technology allows predictable weather forecasting.
-
expected, especially on the basis of previous or known behavior.
His complaints are so predictable.
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.
Vocabulary lists containing predictable
-able
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The Egypt Game
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Words to Describe a Movie
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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.
The chips are programmable, Intel said, and help with efficiency “and enabling more predictable performance” in hyperscaler AI data centers.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 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
Mr. Watamanuk is not interested in investigating any predictable friction in the multiracial dynamic that was streetwear in its early days.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
With Deydey home, things were more exciting, things were more difficult, things were less predictable but somehow more secure.
From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich
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.
