comparable

[kom-per-uh-buhl or, sometimes, kuhm-pair-]

adjective

capable of being compared; having features in common with something else to permit or suggest comparison: He considered the Roman and British empires to be comparable.

worthy of comparison: shops comparable to those on Fifth Avenue.

usable for comparison; similar: We have no comparable data on Russian farming.

Origin of comparable

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin comparābilis, equivalent to comparā(re) to compare + -bilis -ble

Related formscom·pa·ra·bil·i·ty, com·pa·ra·ble·ness, nouncom·pa·ra·bly, adverbin·ter·com·pa·ra·ble, adjectiveun·com·pa·ra·ble, adjectiveun·com·pa·ra·ble·ness, nounun·com·pa·ra·bly, adverb

Can be confusedcomparable comparative

Synonyms for comparable

1. like, equal, equivalent, similar.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for uncomparable

comparable

adjective

worthy of comparison

able to be compared (with)

Derived Formscomparability or comparableness, nouncomparably, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for uncomparable

adj.

late 14c., "incomparable," from un- (1) "not" + comparable. Meaning "unable to be compared (to something else)" is from 1826. Related: Uncomparably.

comparable

adj.

early 15c., from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparabilis "capable of comparison," from comparare (see comparison). Related: Comparably; comparability.