tractable

[ trak-tuh-buhl ]

/ ˈtræk tə bəl /

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See synonyms for: tractable / tractability / tractableness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

easily managed or controlled; docile; yielding: a tractable child; a tractable disposition.

easily worked, shaped, or otherwise handled; malleable.

OTHER WORDS FOR tractable

1 manageable, willing, governable.

See synonyms for tractable on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR tractable

1 stubborn.

See antonyms for tractable on Thesaurus.com

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of tractable

1495–1505; <Latin tractābilis, equivalent to tractā(re) to handle, deal with (frequentative of trahere to draw) + -bilis-ble

OTHER WORDS FROM tractable

trac·ta·bil·i·ty, trac·ta·ble·ness, nountrac·ta·bly, adverbnon·trac·ta·bil·i·ty, nounnon·trac·ta·ble, adjective

non·trac·ta·ble·ness, nounnon·trac·ta·bly, adverbun·trac·ta·bil·i·ty, nounun·trac·ta·ble, adjectiveun·trac·ta·ble·ness, nounun·trac·ta·bly, adverb

Words nearby tractable

track system, track-train dynamics, trackwalker, trackway, tract, tractable, Tractarian, Tractarianism, tractate, tract house, tractile

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tractable in a sentence

They’d take those objects — which may have been hard to study on their own — and break them into combinatorial pieces that were more tractable.
A Mathematician’s Unanticipated Journey Through the Physical World|Kevin Hartnett|December 16, 2020|Quanta Magazine
More inspiring is to say why the problem is in fact more tractable than it seems—as long as you believe that, of course.
How to pitch and write an opinion piece for MIT Technology Review|Amy Nordrum|October 15, 2020|MIT Technology Review
That, Let’s Fund says, “makes this much more politically tractable than carbon taxes.”
Want to fight climate change effectively? Here’s where to donate your money.|Sigal Samuel|September 17, 2020|Vox
To avoid this problem, the researchers came up with several shortcuts and simplifications that help focus on the most important interactions, making the calculations tractable while still providing a precise enough result to be practically useful.
New Algorithm Paves the Way Towards Error-Free Quantum Computing|Edd Gent|August 14, 2020|Singularity Hub

Theorists have explored these situations most thoroughly, in part because they are the only examples tractable with chalkboard mathematics.
Big Bounce Simulations Challenge the Big Bang|Charlie Wood|August 4, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The GOP donor class quietly favors the president's immigration ideas as a source of cheaper and more tractable workers.
Obama's Fighting Speech - Part 3|David Frum|January 22, 2013|DAILY BEAST
They were now quite tractable and never persisted in doing anything against our wishes.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
The man grinned, and, though Alfreton remembered that he was not usually so tractable with him, proceeded to do Winston's bidding.
Winston of the Prairie|Harold Bindloss
It was very tractable and gentle in its temper, and never took advantage of the partiality shown to it.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
When in masses they are the quietest and most tractable workmen it is possible to have to deal with.
Spanish Life in Town and Country|L. Higgin and Eugne E. Street
The Paca very easily becomes domesticated, and is very gentle and tractable, unless when much irritated.
Buffon's Natural History. Volume VII (of 10)|Georges Louis Leclerc de Buffon

British Dictionary definitions for tractable

tractable

/ (ˈtræktəbəl) /

adjective

easily controlled or persuaded

readily worked; malleable

Derived forms of tractable

tractability or tractableness, nountractably, adverb

Word Origin for tractable

C16: from Latin tractābilis, from tractāre to manage, from trahere to draw

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tractable

OTHER WORDS FOR tractable

OPPOSITES FOR tractable

Origin of tractable

OTHER WORDS FROM tractable

Words nearby tractable

Words related to tractable

How to use tractable in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tractable

Derived forms of tractable

Word Origin for tractable