teachable

American  

[tee-chuh-buhl] / ˈti tʃə bəl /

adjective

1. capable of being instructed, as a person; docile.

2. capable of being taught, as a subject.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• teachableness
  noun
• nonteachable
  adjective
• teachably
  adverb
• unteachable
  adjective
• nonteachably
  adverb
• teachability
  noun
• nonteachability
  noun
• nonteachableness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of teachable

First recorded in 1475–85; teach + -able

Example Sentences

That line stayed with me when I spoke to Gregory Rogers, a criminal-justice lecturer and former FBI agent who’s been trying to turn the assassination into a teachable moment.

From Slate • Oct. 30, 2025

This should be a teachable moment, the adulting equivalent of an afterschool special.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 26, 2025

Is a love of art and a willingness to give your life over to art teachable?

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2025

Society may react to them negatively, but these are shown as fleeting interactions and/or the disabled people in question emphasize how they use these opportunities to create teachable moments.

From Salon • Apr. 1, 2025

“Men of business fought against the use of mindspeech when it first was found to be a teachable skill; they outlawed it for decades.”

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin