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.

---

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

See Examples For:

predictable

Media deals provide predictable revenue over several years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

“It’s the simpler, cognitively more predictable jobs,” he said, such as “customer service, back office,” that will likely be replaced, and not the highly-paid workers who could easily find new jobs.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

The environment is enormously complicated, but it also follows many predictable rules.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 18, 2026

Then came the predictable complaint: 50 states could create 50 different systems.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Gerhard is so reasonable, so predictable, so resolute, always doing the right thing, obeying the law, even when he doesn't agree with it.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Related Words

• certain