preferable

American  

[pref-er-uh-buhl, pref-ruh-, pri-fur-] / ˈprɛf ər ə bəl, ˈprɛf rə-, prɪˈfɜr- /

adjective

1. more desirable.

2. worthy to be preferred.

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preferable British  

/ ˈprɛfrəbəl, ˈprɛfərəbəl /

adjective

1. preferred or more desirable

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Usage

Since preferable already means more desirable, one should not say something is more preferable or most preferable

Other Word Forms

• nonpreferability noun
• nonpreferable adjective
• nonpreferableness noun
• nonpreferably adverb
• preferability noun
• preferableness noun
• preferably adverb
• unpreferable adjective
• unpreferableness noun
• unpreferably adverb

Etymology

Origin of preferable

From the French word préfsptérable, dating back to 1640–50. See prefer, -able

Example Sentences

Copper mining stocks, rather than diversified miners, are preferable, the analysts write.

From The Wall Street Journal

Cash today is obviously preferable to a promise that money will come through in the future.

From The Wall Street Journal

Kenyon’s dig at “uproarious pedantry” nods to James’s intellectual pretensions, which some courtiers derided—even though a learned monarch seems preferable to an ignorant one.

From The Wall Street Journal

If you can swing it, check out local hotels for separate lodgings, which may be preferable to your overcrowded childhood home or sleeping on a couch in someone’s living room.

From Salon

According to a poll published on Thursday by El Pais daily, almost one-quarter of Spaniards aged 18 to 28 believed an authoritarian regime may "sometimes" be preferable to a democracy.

From Barron's

Related Words

• desirable
• excellent
• preferred
• superior